Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 14 March 2014

Syria, Ukraine, Russia, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Venezuela, CAR

A grim milestone will be marked this weekend as Syria's devastating civil war enters its fourth year. One thousand days after the conflict began, the figures are mind-boggling: nine million people displaced, tens of thousands killed, countless thousands more disappeared inside regime prisons - and still the bloodshed won't stop. People around the world will be marking the event on Saturday to stand #WithSyria.

Another key event to watch this weekend will be Crimea's disputed referendum, due to be held on Sunday. US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov are in London for key talks, where Kerry is expected to warn Lavrov that the referendum and Russia's military intervention in Crimea could trigger concerted US and EU sanctions. Yesterday, Russia told the UN it did not "want war" with Ukraine, but it has now deployed 10,000 troops along its border with Ukraine.