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Bruno Itan

A photographer who documented the consequences of an extensive security raid in the metropolitan area has described how local people came back with mutilated bodies of people who lost their lives.

The casualties "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness described. Among them were security forces.

One of the bodies had been decapitated - additional victims were "severely damaged", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what he described as stab wounds.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during the security action against a criminal group - the most lethal operation in the city.

The eyewitness explained that he initially learned about the operation Tuesday morning by community members living in Alemão, who sent him messages alerting him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The eyewitness traveled to the healthcare center, where the victims were coming in.

The eyewitness reported that security forces blocked media personnel from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the operation was under way.

"Security forces formed a line and said: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in that neighborhood, stated he managed to gain access past the security perimeter, where he stayed until the next morning.

He described that evening, community members started looking the hillside that borders the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the located casualties in a public space - the documented evidence reveal the emotions of the people there.

"The harsh reality of the situation affected me deeply: the pain of the families, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, crying, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The official of the state announced that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at stopping a criminal group known as Red Command from growing their influence.

At first, state authorities claimed that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" had been killed in the operation.

Authorities later reported that initial estimates suggests that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has estimated the total number of casualties at 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has been able to increase its control across the region.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, in company with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

According to correspondent an expert, who has been covering criminal activity in the city for years, the gang "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and becoming "business partners".

The organization focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking guns, precious metals, petroleum products, liquor smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of Rio state, the government representative, described gang affiliates as criminal extremists and called the four police officers who died during the operation as "heroes".

But the number of casualties in the operation has received condemnation from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "shocked".

During a press briefing the following day, the official defended the police force.

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

He added that the circumstances worsened because the suspects fought back: "It occurred of the retaliation they carried out and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The governor further reported that the casualties presented by community members in the area were "altered".

Via a statement on online platforms, he asserted that certain victims had been taken of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

A police official of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that military attire, vests, and arms" had been removed from the victims and displayed evidence appearing to show a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse