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The photographer

A reporter who witnessed the results of a massive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has described how residents returned with badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness reported. Among them were security forces.

A particular victim was found without a head - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he reported. Several bodies showed what appeared to be stab wounds.

More than 120 people were killed during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the most lethal operation Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness reported that he initially learned concerning the action Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out informing him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness made his way to a local medical facility, where the victims were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement prevented journalists from accessing the operation zone, where the police action were taking place.

"Security forces established a perimeter and declared: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in the area, stated he managed to gain access past the security perimeter, where he remained through the night.

He explained that Tuesday night, area inhabitants commenced searching the elevated terrain that borders the Penha neighborhood from the neighboring Alemão community for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown following the security action.

Local people of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the recovered bodies in a square - and Itan's photos reveal the emotions of the people there.

"The violence of the situation affected me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, mothers fainting, women carrying children, weeping, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of Rio state announced that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 security personnel was aimed at halting a criminal group known as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

At first, local officials claimed that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count shows that 117 alleged criminals have been killed.

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to the poor, has put the overall count of casualties at 132.

Per investigative findings, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction in Brazil, alongside a rival criminal group, with a background extending half a century.

According to reporter Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio extensively, the gang "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and serving as "business partners".

The organization focuses mainly on drug trafficking, while also dealing in guns, gold, energy resources, liquor smoking products.

Based on official reports, gang members have substantial firearms and authorities stated that during the raid, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The official of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, described Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and referred to the security forces killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

However, the count of people killed in the security action has received condemnation from international human rights authorities stating they were "horrified".

During a press briefing the following day, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We intended to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He further explained that the situation had escalated because the suspects fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they implemented and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The governor additionally stated that the bodies presented by community members in the area had been "tampered with".

Through a message on online platforms, he asserted that some of them had been stripped of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility onto the police".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force also said that military attire, protective equipment, and weapons" were taken away from the victims and showed footage seemingly depicting an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse