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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who documented the aftermath of an extensive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has recounted how community members brought back disfigured remains of those who had died.

The casualties "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan stated. They included law enforcement personnel.

One individual was found without a head - others were "severely damaged", he said. Several bodies showed what appeared to be blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness reported that he was first alerted concerning the action in the early hours by community members of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages telling him gunfire had erupted.

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

The photographer stated that law enforcement prevented journalists from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were occurring.

"Police officers formed a line and declared: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, stated he managed to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed until dawn.

He reported that evening, area inhabitants began to search the elevated terrain that borders the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

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

"The harsh reality of it all impacted me a lot: the pain of the families, women collapsing, pregnant wives, sobbing, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The governor of the state announced that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 officers was intended to preventing a criminal group called the criminal faction from growing their influence.

Originally, local officials claimed that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" lost their lives during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates shows that 117 individuals have been killed.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to the poor, has estimated the total number of people killed to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang represents the unique criminal entity that in the past few years has succeeded to expand its territory throughout Rio state.

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

According to reporter Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio for years, Red Command "functions as a network" with area gang leaders forming part of the gang and serving as "operational allies".

The criminal group concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking guns, valuable minerals, energy resources, alcohol cigarettes.

According to the authorities, gang members have substantial firearms and officials reported that during the raid, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The official of Rio state, the political leader, labeled organization participants as drug terrorists and called the security forces killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

However, the count of casualties during the raid has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "horrified".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the state leader defended the police force.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He further explained that the circumstances had escalated due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the resistance they executed and the excessive violence by those criminals."

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

Via a statement on social media, he said that certain victims had been removed of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation onto the police".

A police official from the police department further reported that tactical gear, vests, and firearms" were stripped from the victims and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse