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Bruno Itan

A photographer who witnessed the results of an extensive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has reported how community members returned with badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The casualties "kept coming: the count kept increasing", the photographer described. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies was found without a head - additional victims were "severely damaged", he said. Many also had what appeared to be stab wounds.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The photographer explained that he was first alerted concerning the action Tuesday morning by local people living in Alemão, who contacted him alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness made his way to a local medical facility, where the casualties were coming in.

The eyewitness reported that the police blocked media personnel from entering the affected area, where the police action were taking place.

"Security forces created a barrier and announced: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the area, explained he managed to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained until the next morning.

He described that evening, local residents began to search the hillside that borders Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for family members whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

Local people from the Penha area arranged the recovered bodies in an open area - the documented evidence reveal the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of it all impacted me deeply: the grief of loved ones, women collapsing, pregnant wives, crying, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The official of the region announced that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at stopping an illegal organization referred to as Red Command from expanding its territory.

At first, state authorities claimed that "60 suspects along with four officers" had been killed during the action.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the overall count of casualties as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has managed to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs nationally, alongside First Capital Command, and has a history spanning over five decades.

According to reporter an expert, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city for years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and serving as "operational allies".

The criminal group focuses mainly on drug trafficking, but also smuggles weapons, precious metals, petroleum products, liquor and tobacco.

According to the authorities, criminal affiliates are well armed and officials reported that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of the region, the political leader, labeled Red Command members as criminal extremists and described the four police officers who died during the operation as courageous individuals.

But the number of fatalities in the operation has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "shocked".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, the state leader defended the police force.

"We did not plan to kill anyone. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He continued that the circumstances had escalated due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It occurred of the resistance they implemented and the overwhelming response by those criminals."

The official additionally stated that the bodies shown by residents in the area were "altered".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that some of them had been stripped of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation onto the police".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and arms" were taken away from the victims and presented video apparently demonstrating an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse