Backed by military aircrafts, Brazilian troops are in the Amazon to fight fires that have swept the region and prompted anti-government protests as well as an international outcry
Some 44,000 troops will be available for"unprecedented" operations to put out the fires, and forces are heading to six Brazilian states that asked for federal help.
President Jair Bolsonaro also tried to temper global concern, saying previously deforested areas had burned and that intact rainforest was spared. Even so, the fires were likely to be urgently discussed at a summit of the Group of Seven leaders in France this weekend. The military will use two C-130 Hercules aircraft capable of dumping up to 12,000 litres of water on fires, he said.
The municipality of Nova Santa Helena in Brazil's Mato Grosso state was also hard-hit. Trucks were seen driving along a highway Friday as fires blazed and embers smoldered in adjacent fields. Despite international concern, Bolsonaro told reporters on Saturday that the situation was returning to normal. He said he was "speaking to everyone" about the problem, including Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and several Latin American leaders.
"The planet's lungs are on fire. Let's save them!" read a sign at a protest outside Brazil's embassy in Mexico City.
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