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Bruno Itan

A photographer who observed the aftermath of an extensive security raid in the metropolitan area has recounted how community members came back with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The victims "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan reported. They included law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim was found without a head - others were "totally disfigured", he said. Many also had what appeared to be stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims were killed during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness reported that he initially learned to the raid in the early hours by community members from the Alemão area, who contacted him telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer made his way to the healthcare center, where the victims were arriving.

The photographer stated that security forces prevented journalists from going into the affected area, where the operation were taking place.

"Law enforcement personnel established a perimeter and announced: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in that neighborhood, explained he managed to gain access into the restricted zone, where he continued through the night.

He explained that evening, area inhabitants began to search the mountainous area that separates the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for family members who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Community members living in Penha arranged the located casualties in a square - and Itan's photos display the emotions of those present.

"The harsh reality of the situation shook me deeply: the grief of relatives, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, weeping, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered.

The photographer

The governor of Rio state stated that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 officers was designed to stopping a gang referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

At first, the Rio state government maintained that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured during the action.

Authorities later reported that initial estimates indicates that 117 individuals lost their lives.

The public legal service, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has calculated the final tally of fatalities to be 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang is the only criminal group which in recent years has succeeded to increase its control across the region.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, in company with a rival criminal group, with a background spanning over five decades.

Based on Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city over many years, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "business partners".

The gang focuses mainly on drug trafficking, while also dealing in firearms, precious metals, fuel, liquor cigarettes.

Based on official reports, gang members have substantial firearms and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, characterized Red Command members as criminal extremists and called the security forces who died during the operation as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the security action has received condemnation from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "appalled".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the official supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We aimed to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He continued that the events worsened because the suspects had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they carried out and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The state leader also said that the victims presented by community members in Penha were "altered".

In a post on social media, he said that some of them had been stripped of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame to security forces".

A law enforcement representative from the police department further reported that military attire, vests, and firearms" had been removed from the bodies and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse