'Amazon rainforest not burning as people say'

Bolsonaro has authorised deployment of armed forces to help combat the fires. Pic/AFP

Brasilia: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said that the Amazon rainforest now "is not burning as people say", in a bid to ease global concerns over the massive wildfires that were devastating the world's largest tropical rainforest.

"Our units have started working in the region. Now, the forest is not burning as people say. The fire occurs (in the area) where people deforest," the President told the media here on Saturday. The average number of fires recorded this year in Brazil, Bolsonaro said, was lower than those in the past few years, and the situation, which has caused international attention, "is moving towards normality", reports Xinhua news agency.

Data from the Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), however, showed that the number of forest fires in Brazil soared by 82 per cent from January to August this year from a year ago, and over half of those fires occurred in the Amazon rainforest.

Troops deployed in Amazon rainforest

Backed by military aircraft, Brazilian troops on Saturday were being deployed in the Amazon to fight fires that have swept the region and prompted anti-government protests as well as an international outcry.

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