Amazonia: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has authorised the use of the military to battle the massive wildfires sweeping parts of the Amazon.
A video filmed via helicopter on Friday showed the extent of the fires, as large columns of smoke billowed above the forest area.
Starting from Saturday, Brazilian forces will be deployed to border areas, indigenous territories and other affected regions in the Amazon, to assist in putting out wildfires raging in the rainforest for a month, according to a presidential decree.
The armed forces will collaborate with public security and environmental protection agencies, the decree says.
Bolsonaro's office confirmed that he had signed it.
Fires are common in Brazil in the annual dry season, but they are much more widespread this year.
Brazilian state experts reported nearly 77,000 wildfires across the country so far this year, up 85% over the same period in 2018.
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