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The eyewitness

A photographer who observed the results of a large-scale law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how residents came back with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The victims "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness stated. They included security forces.

One individual was discovered headless - additional victims were "severely damaged", he explained. Many also had what he described as stab wounds.

More than 120 people lost their lives in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness explained that residents first notified him about the operation early on Tuesday by community members living in Alemão, who sent him messages informing him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the victims were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that the police blocked media personnel from entering the affected area, where the police action were occurring.

"Police officers established a perimeter and declared: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in that neighborhood, stated he succeeded to enter past the security perimeter, where he continued until dawn.

He explained during the night, local residents commenced searching the mountainous area which divides the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Community members from the Penha area organized the located casualties in a public space - the photographer's images show the reaction of the people there.

"The harsh reality of the situation impacted me a lot: the pain of the families, mothers fainting, women carrying children, weeping, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The official of Rio state announced that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to halting an illegal organization referred to as Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

Initially, local officials maintained that sixty individuals and four police officers" had been killed in the raid.

They have since said that initial estimates suggests that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The public legal service, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has estimated the final tally of people killed at 132.

According to researchers, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has succeeded to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction in Brazil, in company with another major gang, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Per correspondent an expert, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city over many years, Red Command "works as a system" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and becoming "operational allies".

The gang concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in weapons, gold, fuel, alcohol and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members are well armed and police said that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of the region, the political leader, labeled organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and called the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as "heroes".

However, the count of people killed during the raid has come in for criticism with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "horrified".

In a media appearance the following day, the state leader justified security actions.

"We did not plan to result in deaths. We intended to arrest them all alive," he stated.

He added that the circumstances had escalated because the suspects resisted aggressively: "It occurred of the retaliation they carried out and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The governor additionally stated that the casualties presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on online platforms, he asserted that particular individuals had been removed of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and arms" were taken away from the casualties and presented video seemingly depicting a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse