RIO DE JANEIRO — Authorities in Brazil say an indigenous forest guard was killed and another injured in an ambush by illegal loggers in the Amazon.
Officials in Maranhao, a northeastern state, said Saturday that Paulo Paulino Guajajara was fatally shot Friday night when he and other guards were attacked.
Some indigenous groups in the Amazon rainforest say they are under increasing threat from loggers and cattle ranchers. Fires used to clear land in the Amazon increased sharply in July and August, causing international alarm over a region seen as critical to curbing climate change.
Concern about the rainforest had heightened after Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took office this year with calls to loosen protections for nature reserves and indigenous lands.
Bolsonaro says some economic development is necessary in the Amazon.
The Associated Press
