BRAZIL President Jair Bolsonaro has ordered the armed forces to fight record forest fires in the Amazon, amid international outrage over rising deforestation.
Bolsonaro deployed soldiers in nature reserves, indigenous lands and border areas affected by fires.
The move is an apparent reversal from Mr Bolsonaro, who has been accused of emboldening miners and loggers, the BBC is reporting.
Other countries had threatened to target Brazil’s economy if the nation did not act to stop the fires.
France and Ireland have said they will not ratify a large trade deal with South American nations and Finland’s finance minister has called on the EU to consider banning Brazilian beef imports.
In a televised address to the nation on Friday, Mr Bolsonaro said forest fires “exist in the whole world” and “cannot serve as a pretext for possible international sanctions.”
