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The photographer

An eyewitness who witnessed the aftermath of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has reported how residents came back with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The casualties "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness reported. The total contained security forces.

A particular victim had been decapitated - while others appeared "severely damaged", he reported. Many also had evidence of knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were killed during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

The photographer stated that he was first alerted about the operation Tuesday morning by residents living in Alemão, who reached out informing him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness went to a local medical facility, where the casualties were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that security forces stopped members of the press from entering the operation zone, where the police action were occurring.

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

But Itan, who was raised in the community, explained he managed to make his way past the security perimeter, where he stayed until dawn.

He explained during the night, area inhabitants started looking the mountainous area that borders Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who had been missing following the security action.

Residents living in Penha organized the recovered bodies in an open area - the documented evidence reveal the reaction of the people there.

"The brutality of what occurred impacted me profoundly: the pain of loved ones, women collapsing, expectant spouses, crying, outraged parents," the photographer recalled.

Bruno Itan

The official of Rio state announced that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 security personnel was aimed at preventing a gang referred to as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

Originally, local officials maintained that "60 suspects and four police officers" lost their lives in the operation.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 "suspects" lost their lives.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to the poor, has calculated the total number of fatalities at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity that recently has managed to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction nationally, together with another major gang, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

According to reporter Rafael Soares, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio for years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and serving as "commercial associates".

The gang concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in weapons, gold, petroleum products, liquor cigarettes.

According to the authorities, gang members have substantial firearms and officials reported that during the raid, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of the region, the government representative, characterized Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and described the law enforcement personnel fatally injured in the action as brave public servants.

However, the count of casualties in the operation has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "shocked".

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

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We intended to arrest them all alive," he said.

He further explained that the situation worsened as the individuals fought back: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they carried out and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The governor also said that the victims presented by community members in Penha had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on social media, he claimed that certain victims had been removed of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame to security forces".

A police official from the police department additionally stated that tactical gear, protective equipment, and arms" had been removed from the casualties and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a man stripping military attire {off a corpse