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Bruno Itan

A reporter who documented the results of an extensive Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has recounted how local people brought back disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The casualties "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer stated. They included security forces.

One of the bodies had been decapitated - while others appeared "severely damaged", he said. Several bodies showed what he described as knife injuries.

More than 120 people lost their lives during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid in the city.

The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted to the raid in the early hours by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him gunfire had erupted.

The photographer made his way to the healthcare center, where the bodies were coming in.

The photographer stated that security forces blocked media personnel from accessing the operation zone, where the operation was under way.

"Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and announced: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the area, explained he was able to enter past the security perimeter, where he stayed through the night.

He described during the night, community members started looking the elevated terrain that separates the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the located casualties in an open area - the photographer's images display the emotions of those present.

"The violence of what occurred impacted me deeply: the sorrow of the families, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, sobbing, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The governor of the region declared that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 officers was designed to halting a gang called Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

Originally, the Rio state government stated that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 individuals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has put the overall count of casualties as 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has been able to make territorial gains across the region.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction nationally, in company with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

According to correspondent a specialist, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city over many years, Red Command "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "commercial associates".

The organization concentrates largely on drug trafficking, but also smuggles guns, gold, petroleum products, alcohol cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members possess significant weaponry and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of Rio state, the political leader, characterized gang affiliates as criminal extremists and described the four police officers killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

But the number of fatalities in the security action has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "appalled".

During a press briefing the following day, the official justified security actions.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He continued that the events worsened as the individuals fought back: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they executed and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The official further reported that the bodies presented by community members in Penha had been "tampered with".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that particular individuals had been removed of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi from the police department also said that tactical gear, protective equipment, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and presented video apparently demonstrating a man stripping military attire {off a corpse