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The photographer

A photographer who observed the consequences of a massive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has reported how residents returned with badly injured victims of the deceased individuals.

The bodies "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer stated. They included law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he reported. Several bodies showed what he described as blade trauma.

In excess of 120 victims were killed during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation in the city.

The photographer explained that he was first alerted about the operation Tuesday morning by local people living in Alemão, who reached out alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The reporter made his way to a local medical facility, where the bodies were being brought.

Itan explained that law enforcement stopped members of the press from entering the operation zone, where the police action was under way.

"Security forces created a barrier and declared: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the community, stated he was able to make his way past the security perimeter, where he stayed until the next morning.

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

Residents living in Penha organized the located casualties in an open area - the photographer's images show the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of what occurred affected me deeply: the grief of the families, mothers fainting, women carrying children, weeping, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of Rio state announced that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 security personnel was designed to halting a criminal group referred to as Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

Originally, state authorities maintained that sixty individuals and four police officers" were fatally injured during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to the poor, has put the total number of fatalities to be 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has managed to expand its territory across the region.

Experts commonly view one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, in company with a rival criminal group, and has a history extending half a century.

Per correspondent an expert, who has been covering crime in Rio over many years, Red Command "works as a system" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "operational allies".

The criminal group engages primarily in illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking firearms, valuable minerals, petroleum products, liquor and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members have substantial firearms and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of the region, Cláudio Castro, labeled organization participants as criminal extremists and called the four police officers who died during the operation as courageous individuals.

However, the count of casualties in the security action has come in for criticism with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "appalled".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the official supported law enforcement.

"We did not plan to kill anyone. We intended to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He added that the circumstances intensified because the suspects fought back: "It resulted of the retaliation they executed 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".

Through a message through digital channels, he asserted that certain victims had been stripped of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "in order to shift blame to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force also said that military attire, vests, and firearms" were stripped from the casualties and presented video apparently demonstrating a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse