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Bruno Itan

An eyewitness who observed the consequences of a large-scale law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has described how community members came back with badly injured victims of the deceased individuals.

The bodies "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness reported. The total contained security forces.

One individual had been decapitated - others were "completely mutilated", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what he described as stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims lost their lives in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan explained that residents first notified him about the operation Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness made his way to a local medical facility, where the victims were being brought.

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement prevented journalists from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were occurring.

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and announced: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the community, explained he succeeded to gain access past the security perimeter, where he remained until the next morning.

He explained during the night, local residents commenced searching the elevated terrain that separates the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood organized the located casualties in a square - and Itan's photos display the reaction of those present.

"The harsh reality of it all shook me deeply: the pain of loved ones, women collapsing, pregnant wives, sobbing, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered.

The photographer

The state leader of Rio state stated that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 officers was designed to stopping an illegal organization referred to as Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

Originally, state authorities maintained that sixty individuals along with four officers" lost their lives during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count shows that 117 individuals have been killed.

The public legal service, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the total number of fatalities as 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command is the only criminal group that in the past few years has succeeded to expand its territory throughout Rio state.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction in Brazil, alongside a rival criminal group, and has a history spanning over five decades.

Based on Brazilian journalist a specialist, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio over many years, the gang "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and serving as "commercial associates".

The gang focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, but also smuggles guns, precious metals, energy resources, alcohol smoking products.

According to the authorities, organization members are well armed and police said that during the raid, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of the region, the government representative, described organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and described the four police officers who died during the operation as "heroes".

But the number of people killed during the raid has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities stating they were "shocked".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the state leader justified security actions.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We wanted to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He further explained that the circumstances intensified as the individuals had retaliated: "It occurred of the resistance they implemented and the overwhelming response by those criminals."

The state leader also said that the bodies presented by community members in Penha had been "manipulated".

Via a statement on social media, he asserted that certain victims had been taken of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility onto the police".

A law enforcement representative of Rio's civil police force also said that military attire, body armor, and arms" had been removed from the victims and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a man stripping military attire {off a corpse