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Bruno Itan

A reporter who observed the consequences of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has reported how local people came back with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The bodies "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. Among them were those of police officers.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he said. Several bodies showed what appeared to be blade trauma.

More than 120 people were killed during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation Rio has experienced.

The photographer reported that residents first notified him concerning the action Tuesday morning by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer traveled to the healthcare center, where the victims were being brought.

The eyewitness reported that security forces blocked media personnel from entering the affected area, where the operation were occurring.

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

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in the community, stated he succeeded to make his way into the restricted zone, where he stayed until dawn.

He reported that Tuesday night, community members commenced searching the hillside that separates the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for family members whose whereabouts were unknown following the security action.

Residents living in Penha organized the recovered bodies in an open area - and Itan's photos reveal the response of those present.

"The brutality of it all shook me a lot: the pain of relatives, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, crying, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The official of the region announced that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at preventing a gang referred to as the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

At first, state authorities stated that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed during the action.

They have since said that initial estimates shows that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to the poor, has calculated the total number of casualties to be 132.

According to researchers, Red Command represents the unique criminal entity that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains across the region.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, alongside a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

Based on Brazilian journalist a specialist, who has been covering criminal activity in the city extensively, Red Command "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and serving as "commercial associates".

The gang concentrates largely on narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, gold, petroleum products, beverages and tobacco.

According to the authorities, criminal affiliates are well armed and police said that during the raid, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the state, the government representative, described organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and called the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities during the raid has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials stating they were "shocked".

During a press briefing the next day, the state leader defended the police force.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he stated.

He further explained that the situation intensified as the individuals had retaliated: "It occurred of the resistance they implemented and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."

The official further reported that the bodies presented by community members in the area had been "manipulated".

In a post on social media, he claimed that some of them had been stripped of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation to security forces".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that military attire, vests, and weapons" were stripped from the victims and presented video seemingly depicting an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse