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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who documented the aftermath of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has described how community members returned with disfigured remains of the deceased individuals.

The victims "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan reported. They included law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim had been decapitated - additional victims were "totally disfigured", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what he described as knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

The photographer reported that he initially learned to the raid Tuesday morning by local people living in Alemão, who reached out informing him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness went to a local medical facility, where the victims were being brought.

Itan explained that security forces stopped members of the press from accessing the affected area, where the operation was under way.

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

But Itan, who grew up in the area, reported he managed to make his way past the security perimeter, where he stayed until dawn.

He explained that evening, area inhabitants commenced searching the elevated terrain which divides the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who had been missing after the operation.

Local people living in Penha organized the located casualties in an open area - the documented evidence reveal the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of what occurred impacted me a lot: the sorrow of the families, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, crying, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The official of the state stated that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 security personnel was designed to halting an illegal organization called Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

At first, the Rio state government maintained that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed during the action.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 individuals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to the poor, has estimated the final tally of fatalities at 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command is the only criminal group which in recent years has succeeded to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction nationally, together with another major gang, and has a history spanning over five decades.

Based on Brazilian journalist an expert, who has been covering crime in Rio over many years, the gang "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "business partners".

The criminal group focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, but also smuggles firearms, precious metals, petroleum products, beverages cigarettes.

Based on official reports, gang members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that while the action was underway, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of Rio state, the political leader, characterized organization participants as drug terrorists and referred to the security forces who died during the operation as brave public servants.

However, the count of fatalities during the raid has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "shocked".

During a press briefing the next day, the state leader supported law enforcement.

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He further explained that the situation intensified because the suspects fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they executed and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The state leader additionally stated that the victims displayed by locals in the area had been "tampered with".

Via a statement through digital channels, he asserted that particular individuals had been removed of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

A police official representing security forces also said that military attire, body armor, and arms" were stripped from the casualties and presented video seemingly depicting a person stripping military attire {off a corpse