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Bruno Itan

A photographer who witnessed the aftermath of a large-scale security raid in Rio de Janeiro has described how residents returned with badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The casualties "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. The total contained security forces.

A particular victim was found without a head - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he said. Several bodies showed evidence of stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims were killed during the security action on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation in the city.

The eyewitness explained that he initially learned about the operation early on Tuesday by local people living in Alemão, who reached out informing him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer traveled to a local medical facility, where the bodies were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement stopped members of the press from entering the affected area, where the security measures were occurring.

"Security forces created a barrier and said: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the area, explained he succeeded to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he remained until dawn.

He described during the night, community members commenced searching the mountainous area which divides the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for relatives who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Community members from the Penha area arranged the discovered victims in a public space - the photographer's images reveal the emotions of those present.

"The brutality of it all shook me deeply: the pain of the families, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, weeping, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The photographer

The state leader of the region declared that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 officers was intended to preventing a gang referred to as the criminal faction from increasing their control.

At first, state authorities claimed that sixty individuals along with four officers" were fatally injured in the operation.

They have since said that early calculations suggests that 117 alleged criminals have been killed.

The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has estimated the total number of fatalities at 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has been able to increase its control across the region.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, together with 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 extensively, the gang "functions as a network" with area gang leaders joining the organization and acting as "operational allies".

The criminal group focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, precious metals, energy resources, alcohol and tobacco.

According to the authorities, organization members have substantial firearms and police said that while the action was underway, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of the region, the government representative, described organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and referred to the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as brave public servants.

However, the count of people killed in the security action has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials stating they were "shocked".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He further explained that the situation intensified as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they executed and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The governor additionally stated that the casualties shown by residents in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Through a message on online platforms, he said that certain victims had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A law enforcement representative of Rio's civil police force also said that "camouflage clothing, vests, and firearms" were stripped from the casualties and displayed evidence appearing to show a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse