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Bruno Itan

A reporter who witnessed the results of a large-scale law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how community members brought back mutilated bodies of those who had died.

The bodies "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness described. Among them were security forces.

One individual was discovered headless - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what he described as blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted to the raid early on Tuesday by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him informing him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The reporter went to the healthcare center, where the casualties were being brought.

The photographer stated that security forces stopped members of the press from entering the affected area, where the police action were taking place.

"Police officers formed a line and said: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, stated he was able to make his way into the restricted zone, where he remained through the night.

He explained that evening, community members started looking the mountainous area that borders Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for family members who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the discovered victims in a square - the documented evidence reveal the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of it all affected me deeply: the grief of relatives, women collapsing, pregnant wives, crying, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The official of Rio state announced that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at halting a gang known as Red Command from expanding its territory.

Initially, state authorities stated that "60 suspects along with four officers" lost their lives in the operation.

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

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the total number of casualties at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang represents the unique criminal entity that in the past few years has been able to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, in company with a rival criminal group, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

Per reporter a specialist, who has been covering crime in Rio extensively, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and acting as "commercial associates".

The organization concentrates largely on narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, precious metals, petroleum products, beverages cigarettes.

According to the authorities, gang members are well armed and police said that during the raid, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of Rio state, the political leader, labeled organization participants as criminal extremists and referred to the four police officers who died during the operation as brave public servants.

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 "appalled".

At a news conference the next day, the state leader defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We intended to detain everyone safely," he said.

He further explained that the circumstances worsened due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It occurred of the retaliation they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The state leader further reported that the victims presented by community members in Penha had been "manipulated".

Through a message on online platforms, he claimed that some of them had been stripped of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame to security forces".

A police official representing security forces additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and firearms" were taken away from the bodies and presented video apparently demonstrating a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse