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Bruno Itan

A reporter who witnessed the aftermath of a large-scale law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has recounted how community members returned with mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The victims "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. The total contained security forces.

A particular victim had been decapitated - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Several bodies showed what he described as stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims were killed in the Tuesday operation against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

The photographer stated that he was first alerted about the operation early on Tuesday by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out informing him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness made his way to the healthcare center, where the bodies were coming in.

The photographer stated that the police blocked media personnel from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the police action was under way.

"Police officers established a perimeter and said: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in the area, explained he managed to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he continued until the next morning.

He explained that Tuesday night, local residents started looking the hillside that borders Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

Residents living in Penha proceeded to place the discovered victims in a public space - the documented evidence reveal the reaction of the people there.

"The violence of the situation affected me profoundly: the grief of loved ones, women collapsing, expectant spouses, crying, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The governor of the region announced that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 officers was intended to preventing a gang known as Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

Originally, the Rio state government maintained that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured during the action.

They have since said that early calculations shows that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has estimated the final tally of casualties to be 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command is the only criminal group that recently has managed to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, in company with First Capital Command, and has a history dating back more than 50 years.

Based on reporter Rafael Soares, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city for years, the gang "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and serving as "commercial associates".

The organization focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking weapons, precious metals, energy resources, beverages and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members have substantial firearms and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The official of the state, Cláudio Castro, described gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and described the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as "heroes".

But the number 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".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the state leader supported law enforcement.

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

He continued that the situation had escalated as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the retaliation they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The governor further reported that the bodies shown by residents in Penha had been "manipulated".

Through a message through digital channels, he asserted that certain victims had been removed of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A police official from the police department additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and displayed evidence appearing to show an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse