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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who documented the aftermath of a large-scale law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has reported how local people returned with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The victims "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan stated. The total contained those of police officers.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Several bodies showed evidence of blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals were killed during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid in the city.

The photographer reported that residents first notified him to the raid early on Tuesday by community members living in Alemão, who contacted him telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The eyewitness made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were arriving.

The photographer stated that law enforcement stopped members of the press from accessing the operation zone, where the operation were taking place.

"Security forces established a perimeter and declared: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, explained he succeeded to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he remained through the night.

He reported that Tuesday night, area inhabitants commenced searching the elevated terrain which divides the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Local people from the Penha area proceeded to place the located casualties in a public space - and Itan's photos display the reaction of those present.

"The violence of it all affected me a lot: the pain of the families, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, weeping, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of Rio state announced that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to preventing a gang referred to as Red Command from increasing their control.

Initially, state authorities maintained that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured in the operation.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the total number of people killed to be 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has managed to expand its territory across the region.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction in the country, in company with another major gang, with a background spanning over five decades.

Based on reporter Rafael Soares, who has been covering crime in Rio for years, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and serving as "business partners".

The gang engages primarily in narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, valuable minerals, energy resources, beverages and tobacco.

Based on official reports, gang members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that during the raid, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of the state, the political leader, described Red Command members as criminal extremists and referred to the law enforcement personnel fatally injured in the action as brave public servants.

Nevertheless, the total of people killed in the operation has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities stating they were "shocked".

In a media appearance the next day, the official defended the police force.

"We did not plan to kill anyone. We intended to detain everyone safely," he said.

He added that the circumstances had escalated because the suspects resisted aggressively: "It occurred of the retaliation they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The official further reported that the victims shown by residents in the neighborhood had been "manipulated".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that particular individuals had been removed of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and arms" were stripped from the bodies and presented video apparently demonstrating an individual cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse