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The eyewitness

A photographer who witnessed the results of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has described how community members came back with mutilated bodies of people who lost their lives.

The victims "kept coming: the count kept increasing", the photographer reported. The total contained security forces.

A particular victim was found without a head - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were killed during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness stated that he initially learned concerning the action early on Tuesday by community members living in Alemão, who reached out alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were arriving.

Itan explained that law enforcement blocked media personnel from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were occurring.

"Police officers established a perimeter and announced: 'Media representatives doesn't get past here'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in the area, stated he succeeded to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he remained until the next morning.

He explained that evening, local residents started looking the elevated terrain that borders the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Local people from the Penha area organized the recovered bodies in a public space - the documented evidence display the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of what occurred impacted me a lot: the grief of relatives, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, weeping, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The official of Rio state announced that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 officers was designed to stopping an illegal organization known as the criminal faction from increasing their control.

At first, the Rio state government stated that sixty individuals and four police officers" were fatally injured in the operation.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has calculated the final tally of fatalities to be 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command represents the unique criminal entity that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains across the region.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction in the country, in company with another major gang, with a background extending half a century.

According to Brazilian journalist an expert, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and serving as "operational allies".

The criminal group concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in weapons, gold, petroleum products, liquor smoking products.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and officials reported that throughout the operation, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of the state, Cláudio Castro, labeled organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and called the security forces fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of people killed in the security action has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "appalled".

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

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He continued that the circumstances worsened as the individuals had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they carried out and the excessive violence from the gang members."

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

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that particular individuals had been taken of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force further reported that tactical gear, body armor, and firearms" were stripped from the casualties and showed footage apparently demonstrating a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse