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Bruno Itan

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

The casualties "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. Among them were security forces.

One individual was discovered headless - others were "completely mutilated", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during the security action on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted concerning the action early on Tuesday by residents from the Alemão area, who contacted him informing him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness went to the healthcare center, where the bodies were being brought.

The eyewitness reported that the police prevented journalists from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were occurring.

"Security forces created a barrier and announced: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who was raised in the community, stated he succeeded to make his way into the restricted zone, where he stayed until the next morning.

He described during the night, area inhabitants started looking the hillside which divides the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Community members of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the located casualties in an open area - the photographer's images show the response of those present.

"The harsh reality of it all impacted me a lot: the sorrow of relatives, mothers fainting, women carrying children, sobbing, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The official of Rio state declared that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at stopping a gang referred to as the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

Originally, the Rio state government maintained that sixty individuals and four police officers" lost their lives in the raid.

Authorities later reported that early calculations indicates that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to the poor, has calculated the overall count of fatalities as 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has managed to increase its control across the region.

It is generally regarded one of the two largest gangs in the country, in company with another major gang, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

According to correspondent an expert, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio extensively, Red Command "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and serving as "operational allies".

The criminal group engages primarily in illegal drug trade, but also smuggles guns, precious metals, fuel, alcohol and tobacco.

Based on official reports, organization members are well armed and officials reported that throughout the operation, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of Rio state, the government representative, described organization participants as criminal extremists and called the four police officers who died during the operation as brave public servants.

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the security action has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "shocked".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the state leader justified security actions.

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

He continued that the circumstances had escalated due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the resistance they executed and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The governor also said that the casualties displayed by locals in the neighborhood were "altered".

In a post on social media, he claimed that particular individuals had been removed of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A police official from the police department also said that tactical gear, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the bodies and displayed evidence seemingly depicting an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse