Brazil's army intelligence head dies from COVID-19

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) – The head of Brazil's Army Intelligence Center (CIE), Gen. Carlos Sydriao, has apparently died from the coronavirus after 10 days of hospitalization.

The death of the 53-year-old general was confirmed by the army Tuesday, according to local news agency Agencia Brasil, however, no information was shared about the cause of death.

He was appointed to the post in July 2019 by President Jair Bolsonaro and his last mission was delivering humanitarian aid to Lebanon following a deadly blast in Beirut.

His body will be cremated later Wednesday in a ceremony restricted to family members.

Brazil, with over 127,000 coronavirus-related deaths and nearly 4.2M infection cases, is one of the worst-hit countries globally, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.