Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will not attend a regional summit on Amazon fires scheduled later this week due to medical reasons, a spokesman said.
However, the urgency of discussions increased further as 2,000 new fires started in the Amazonian forests since the ban on burning was announced Thursday.
According to SBS News, Bolsonaro's medical counsel advised that the president should prepare for a hernia operation that's been scheduled for Sunday, spokesman Rego Barros revealed on Monday.
During Bolsonaro's presidential campaign in 2018, he was stabbed and since then, he has received three operations. The fourth surgery next week should correct an incisional hernia.
Barros explained that Bolsonaro's doctors asked the president's surgery prepping will begin with a liquid diet on Friday. Coincidentally, the Amazon fires summit in Colombia also kicks off on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Bolsonaro went on a hard-line speech, stating that he will face the United Nations at the General Assembly even if he is confined to a wheelchair at that time. He said he will attend the conference because he wants the Amazon fires discussion to push through.
Bolsonaro has received widespread criticism for his government's seemingly delayed response to the Amazon fires. He has also exchanged public comments with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Meanwhile, an estimated 2,000 new fires were recorded in the Amazonian rainforests within the past two days. A ban has been imposed on burning any part of the forests but the fires still ensued.
According to the Daily Mail, the National Space Research Institute revealed that roughly 2,000 of the new fires that broke out since Thursday was found in the Amazon rainforests.
The new Amazon fires are now part of the 88,816 blazes in Brazil from January to August. The massive spreading of fires around the forests has gained the attention of environmentalists and politicians around the world.
The G-7 member countries have agreed on a $20 million fund in support for Brazil's efforts in stopping the fires. However, Bolsonaro said he will not accept the financial aid unless Macron retracts the criticisms he spat out in public.
Many analysts have said that most of the fires were initiated by farmers. The Brazilian government is also said to have been supportive of the farming activities in the Amazonian forests.
Tribal groups living in the Amazonian regions have since called for help as they watch the trees on their lands slowly fade into the infernos. The Yawanawa tribe, in particular, said the fires are threatening their culture and lifestyle. Many indigenous people in the Amazon have lived in the region for centuries.
