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Bruno Itan

A reporter who witnessed the results of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how residents returned with badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness reported. The total contained security forces.

A particular victim was discovered headless - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he said. Many also had what he described as stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals were killed during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation in the city.

The photographer stated that he was first alerted concerning the action Tuesday morning by community members living in Alemão, who sent him messages alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness went to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were being brought.

The photographer stated that the police blocked media personnel from accessing the affected area, where the operation was under way.

"Security forces established a perimeter and said: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who spent his childhood in the community, explained he succeeded to gain access past the security perimeter, where he stayed through the night.

He reported that Tuesday night, area inhabitants commenced searching the hillside that separates the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the located casualties in a square - the photographer's images show the reaction of those present.

"The violence of what occurred shook me a lot: the sorrow of loved ones, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, weeping, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

Bruno Itan

The official of the state announced that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at stopping a gang known as Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

Originally, the Rio state government stated that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" were fatally injured in the raid.

Officials subsequently stated that early calculations indicates that 117 individuals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to the poor, has put the total number of fatalities as 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has managed to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in the country, in company with First Capital Command, and has a history spanning over five decades.

Based on Brazilian journalist a specialist, who has been covering criminal activity in the city over many years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and becoming "commercial associates".

The criminal group engages primarily in drug trafficking, additionally trafficking weapons, valuable minerals, fuel, alcohol and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and police said that throughout the operation, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of Rio state, the political leader, labeled gang affiliates as drug terrorists and referred to the security forces fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities during the raid has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials stating they were "horrified".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the official defended the police force.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He added that the situation intensified as the individuals fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they carried out and the disproportionate use of force from the gang members."

The official additionally stated that the bodies displayed by locals in the neighborhood had been "manipulated".

Via a statement through digital channels, he claimed that certain victims had been stripped of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that tactical gear, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the casualties and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse