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The eyewitness

A reporter who observed the consequences of a massive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has described how residents came back with badly injured victims of the deceased individuals.

The victims "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", the photographer stated. Among them were those of police officers.

One individual had been decapitated - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what he described as stab wounds.

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

The photographer reported that he was first alerted concerning the action Tuesday morning by residents 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 bodies were being brought.

Itan explained that security forces blocked media personnel from accessing the affected area, where the operation were occurring.

"Police officers established a perimeter and declared: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in that neighborhood, stated he succeeded to make his way into the restricted zone, where he continued until the next morning.

He described that Tuesday night, local residents started looking the mountainous area that borders Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Local people of the Penha neighbourhood organized the discovered victims in a public space - and Itan's photos show the reaction of those present.

"The brutality of the situation impacted me deeply: the pain of loved ones, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, weeping, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The official of the state stated that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 security personnel was designed to stopping an illegal organization known as Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

Originally, the Rio state government claimed that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" were fatally injured in the raid.

Officials subsequently stated that early calculations indicates that 117 individuals have been killed.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has put the overall count of people killed to be 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command is the only criminal group that in the past few years has been able to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, in company with another major gang, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Based on Brazilian journalist an expert, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio for years, Red Command "works as a system" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and serving as "commercial associates".

The criminal group concentrates largely on drug trafficking, additionally trafficking weapons, precious metals, energy resources, liquor cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members have substantial firearms and police said that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives.

The state leader of the region, the political leader, labeled organization participants as drug terrorists and called the four police officers fatally injured in the action as brave public servants.

But the number of people killed in the security action has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "appalled".

In a media appearance the next day, the official supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We wanted to take suspects into custody without harm," he declared.

He added that the circumstances had escalated as the individuals fought back: "It occurred of the retaliation they implemented and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The governor additionally stated that the casualties presented by community members in the area had been "manipulated".

In a post on social media, he asserted that particular individuals had been taken of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces further reported that "camouflage clothing, vests, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse