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The eyewitness

A reporter who documented the results of an extensive security raid in the Brazilian city has reported how local people brought back badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness reported. They included security forces.

A particular victim was found without a head - others were "totally disfigured", he reported. Many also had evidence of knife injuries.

In excess of 120 victims were fatally injured during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

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

The reporter traveled to a local medical facility, where the bodies were coming in.

Itan explained that law enforcement prevented journalists from entering the affected area, where the security measures was under way.

"Police officers formed a line and declared: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the area, stated he managed to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he remained until the next morning.

He explained that Tuesday night, area inhabitants commenced searching the elevated terrain that borders the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who had been missing following the security action.

Local people from the Penha area organized the discovered victims in an open area - and Itan's photos show the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of it all impacted me a lot: the sorrow of relatives, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, crying, outraged parents," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The state leader of Rio state announced that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 officers was aimed at stopping an illegal organization referred to as Red Command from increasing their control.

Initially, state authorities stated that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the operation.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates indicates that 117 alleged criminals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has put the total number of fatalities at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity that recently has succeeded to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view one of the two largest gangs nationally, in company with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

Per reporter a specialist, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city extensively, the gang "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and serving as "operational allies".

The criminal group concentrates largely on drug trafficking, while also dealing in guns, precious metals, energy resources, beverages smoking products.

Based on official reports, organization members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that during the raid, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of the state, the government representative, labeled Red Command members as criminal extremists and referred to the four police officers killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

However, the count of casualties in the operation has received condemnation from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "shocked".

In a media appearance the following day, the official supported law enforcement.

"We did not plan to kill anyone. We aimed to take suspects into custody without harm," he stated.

He added that the situation intensified due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the retaliation they implemented and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The state leader further reported that the bodies presented by community members in the area had been "manipulated".

In a post on online platforms, he said that certain victims had been taken of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A police official from the police department further reported that tactical gear, body armor, and arms" had been removed from the bodies and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse