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The eyewitness

A reporter who witnessed the aftermath of an extensive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has reported how community members came back with badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness reported. Among them were those of police officers.

One of the bodies was found without a head - others were "severely damaged", he reported. Many also had what he described as knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action in the city.

The photographer explained that he initially learned to the raid in the early hours by residents living in Alemão, who contacted him alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer went to a local medical facility, where the bodies were coming in.

The photographer stated that law enforcement stopped members of the press from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were taking place.

"Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and said: 'Journalists are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in that neighborhood, stated he managed to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he continued until the next morning.

He reported during the night, local residents began to search the mountainous area that separates the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Residents from the Penha area proceeded to place the discovered victims in a public space - and Itan's photos display the response of those present.

"The violence of it all affected me a lot: the pain of the families, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, weeping, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

Bruno Itan

The governor of Rio state announced that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 security personnel was aimed at stopping a criminal group called Red Command from increasing their control.

Originally, state authorities claimed that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" were fatally injured in the raid.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count shows that 117 "suspects" lost their lives.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has put the overall count of casualties as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang represents the unique criminal entity that recently has been able to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in the country, together with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

According to correspondent Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio extensively, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "operational allies".

The criminal group engages primarily in illegal drug trade, but also smuggles weapons, precious metals, fuel, beverages and tobacco.

Based on official reports, gang members have substantial firearms and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they came under attack using drone-delivered explosives.

The state leader of the state, the government representative, characterized Red Command members as drug terrorists and referred to the security forces who died during the operation as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of people killed in the operation has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "appalled".

During a press briefing the next day, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

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

He further explained that the circumstances worsened due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they implemented and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The governor additionally stated that the victims presented by community members in the area had been "manipulated".

Via a statement on online platforms, he said that some of them had been removed of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces also said that military attire, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the casualties and displayed evidence appearing to show a man stripping military attire {off a corpse