Henry Steps Down as Gang Violence Escalates

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the latest from Haiti’s spiraling crisis, international efforts to send much-needed aid to Gaza, and India’s enactment of a controversial citizenship law.

Embattled acting Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced late Monday that he would step down from the position once a transitional presidential council is formed, yielding to growing domestic and global pressure for a political transition as gang violence overtakes the country.

If all goes according to plan, the move could lay the groundwork for a long-awaited election in Haiti, but there remains considerable uncertainty and it is far from clear who Henry’s potential successor may be. Henry has held power since 2021, when he became caretaker president after the assassination of then-President Jovenel Moïse. In the years since, he has grown unpopular, particularly as he failed to follow through on pledges to hold elections and stamp out gang violence.

The crisis deteriorated rapidly last week after gangs effectively blocked Henry, who was on a diplomatic trip abroad, from returning to Haiti—forcing his plane to land in Puerto Rico, where he remains today. Gang violence grips the country, with the United Nations estimating that armed gangs have seized control of more than 80 percent of territory in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.

“The government I lead cannot remain indifferent to this situation,” Henry said late Monday. “Haiti needs peace, stability, sustainable development and to rebuild its democratic institutions. I urge Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can to restore peace and stability as quickly as possible for the good of the country.”

Henry’s announcement came after Caribbean leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken convened for urgent talks about Haiti’s crisis in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday. In recent days, Blinken also ramped up pressure on Henry to back a political transition proposal. The United States has pledged some $333 million in total toward a U.N.-backed security mission and humanitarian aid to Haiti.

But mounting uncertainty may also change some involved countries’ commitments. On Tuesday, Kenyan officials announced that they would wait for a transitional government to be established before sending 1,000 police officers to the country, a deal originally secured during Henry’s tenure.

Aid shipment to Gaza. Aid groups hope that a new maritime corridor could help supply much-needed aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. The first test of the route came on Tuesday, as a ship carrying around 200 tons of food departed Cyprus for Gaza, a trip that will likely take several days. The U.S. charity World Central Kitchen is behind the aid shipment.

The aid shipment comes as the United Nations warns of dire humanitarian conditions in the war-torn territory. At least 576,000 people are “facing catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation,” according to the U.N. “If nothing changes, a famine is imminent in northern Gaza,” said World Food Programme deputy executive director Carl Skau.

Nigeria’s missing schoolchildren. Nigerian soldiers are continuing their search for hundreds of missing schoolchildren who were kidnapped in the past week. In the most recent kidnapping, 15 children were taken from a school on Saturday; more than 280 children were abducted last Thursday. It remains unclear who is behind the kidnappings.

The school abductions are the latest in a string of kidnappings that have rocked Nigeria in recent months. Earlier this month, more than 200 people, mostly women and children, were kidnapped in the Nigerian state of Borno. In 2023, Nigeria experienced at least 3,600 reported abductions, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

India’s citizenship law. Just weeks ahead of India’s national elections, New Delhi has enacted a 2019 citizenship law that has drawn fierce criticism for excluding Muslims. The legislation, known as the Citizenship Amendment Act, offers a fast track to citizenship for religious minorities who fled to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan prior to Dec. 31, 2014. Muslims, however, are not granted the same rights under the bill.

The timing of the implementation has raised concerns that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may wield the law as a tool to discriminate against the country’s sizable Muslim community as he seeks a third term in power. “The CAA legitimises discrimination based on religion,” Amnesty India posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The Act is exclusionary in its structure and intent.”

It might be time for the French to lay off the frog legs. The country’s infatuation with the dish—often enjoyed with butter and parsley—may be paving the way for species’ decline in other countries, hundreds of scientists warned in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron last week. Since France is the world’s biggest consumer of frog legs, the letter said, the country has a “particular responsibility to take the lead on this issue.”