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Bruno Itan

An eyewitness who witnessed the aftermath of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has described how community members brought back disfigured remains of those who had died.

The victims "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer reported. They included law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim was discovered headless - others were "totally disfigured", he reported. Several bodies showed what he described as blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals were killed during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted concerning the action Tuesday morning by community members of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him informing him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness made his way to the healthcare center, where the victims were being brought.

The photographer stated that security forces prevented journalists from going into the operation zone, where the security measures were taking place.

"Police officers created a barrier and announced: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in the area, stated he managed to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he continued through the night.

He explained that Tuesday night, area inhabitants started looking the mountainous area that borders Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

Community members of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the located casualties in a square - and Itan's photos display the emotions of the people there.

"The violence of what occurred affected me profoundly: the grief of relatives, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, weeping, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The official of the region stated that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to preventing a criminal group known as Red Command from growing their influence.

At first, local officials claimed that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives in the raid.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to the poor, has put the final tally of people killed at 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang is the only criminal group that recently has been able to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, alongside a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

Per correspondent Rafael Soares, who has long reported on crime in Rio for years, the gang "works as a system" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and becoming "commercial associates".

The organization engages primarily in illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking guns, gold, energy resources, beverages smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members are well armed and police said that during the raid, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of Rio state, the political leader, labeled Red Command members as drug terrorists and called the four police officers killed in the raid as brave public servants.

But the number of fatalities in the security action has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities stating they were "appalled".

At a news conference the next day, the state leader defended the police force.

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We intended to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He added that the situation had escalated due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the resistance they implemented and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The official additionally stated that the bodies displayed by locals in the area had been "tampered with".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that certain victims had been stripped of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

A police official representing security forces additionally stated that tactical gear, vests, and arms" were stripped from the bodies and presented video appearing to show a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse