Rights group: Evidence cluster bombs used in Yemen

Human Rights Watch says a Saudi-led coalition may have used cluster bombs in its airstrikes targeting Shiite rebels in Yemen.  In a report released Sunday, the U.S.-based group says satellite imagery indicates the munitions landed ``within 600 meters of several dozen buildings in four to six village clusters.'' Cluster munitions spread bomblets over a wide area, many of which do not immediately explode. The bomblets can kill or maim civilians long after a conflict ends, and have been compared to land mines.  The report says the weapons were supplied to Saudi Arabia by the United States. Saudi Arabia has denied using cluster munitions during its month-long campaign against the rebels.

The coalition includes eight other Arab states and is receiving logistical support from the United States, Britain and France.  The air strikes and fighting between the Shiite militias, known as Houthis, and forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, now based in Riyadh, has worsened Yemen's humanitarian crisis, prompting aid agencies to also call for a halt to the bombing.  The Houthis called on the United Nations on Saturday to seek an end to the air strikes which they described as blatant aggression against the country.  The United Nations says at least 550 civilians have been killed in the conflict, both in airstrikes and ground fighting.