British journalist confirmed dead in Brazil

ATALAIA DO NORTE (Brazil) • Brazilian police have officially identified the remains of British journalist Dom Phillips, who was found buried in the Amazon after going missing on a book research trip.

The grim result comes after the disappearance of Mr Phillips and his guide, indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, ignited an international outcry, with the United States calling for "accountability".

Mr Phillips was identified through "forensic dentistry combined with forensic anthropology," the police said on Friday, adding that they were still working on "complete identification" of the unearthed remains, which may include those of Mr Pereira, who had received multiple death threats.

Veteran correspondent Phillips, 57, and Mr Pereira, 41, went missing on June 5 in a remote part of the rainforest rife with illegal mining, fishing and logging, as well as drug trafficking.

Ten days later, a suspect named Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira - known as "Pelado" - took police to a place where he said he had buried bodies near the city of Atalaia do Norte, where the pair had been headed by boat.

Police said investigations pointed to the perpetrators having "acted alone, without there being an intellectual author or criminal organisation behind the crime".

"The investigations continue and there are indications of the participation of more people".

Activists have blamed the killings on President Jair Bolsonaro for allowing commercial exploitation of the Amazon at the cost of the environment and law and order. But Mr Bolsonaro has sought to lay blame at the door of the men themselves for undertaking a "reckless" trip in an area where Mr Phillips was "disliked".

Phillips, a longtime contributor to international newspapers, was working on a book on sustainable development in the Amazon. Mr Pereira, an expert at Brazil's indigenous affairs agency Funai, had received multiple threats from loggers and miners with their eye on isolated Indigenous land.

The Univaja association of Indigenous peoples, which took part in the search for the men, refuted the police's conclusion that the killers had acted alone. "These are not just two killers, but an organised group that planned the crime in detail," Univaja said, claiming that authorities had ignored numerous complaints about the activities of criminal gangs in the area.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE