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Bruno Itan

An eyewitness who documented the consequences of a massive security raid in the metropolitan area has reported how community members brought back badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The victims "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. The total contained those of police officers.

One individual had been decapitated - others were "totally disfigured", he said. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the bloodiest action in the city.

The photographer reported that he was first alerted to the raid in the early hours by residents from the Alemão area, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The reporter traveled to the healthcare center, where the casualties were coming in.

The eyewitness reported that the police blocked media personnel from going into the affected area, where the police action was under way.

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

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the community, reported he was able to enter into the restricted zone, where he continued until dawn.

He reported that evening, community members began to search the elevated terrain that borders the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who had been missing after the operation.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the recovered bodies in a public space - the documented evidence reveal the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of the situation shook me a lot: the grief of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, sobbing, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The state leader of Rio state announced that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 security personnel was aimed at halting a criminal group called the criminal faction from growing their influence.

Initially, local officials claimed that "60 suspects and four police officers" lost their lives during the action.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to the poor, has put the total number of people killed at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang represents the unique criminal entity that recently has managed to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction in Brazil, alongside First Capital Command, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

Per correspondent Rafael Soares, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio extensively, Red Command "works as a system" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "commercial associates".

The gang engages primarily in drug trafficking, while also dealing in guns, valuable minerals, petroleum products, alcohol smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that during the raid, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of the region, Cláudio Castro, labeled gang affiliates as drug terrorists and called the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

However, the count of casualties in the security action has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "horrified".

At a news conference the following day, the official defended the police force.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He added that the circumstances had escalated as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the retaliation they carried out and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The governor also said that the casualties presented by community members in Penha had been "tampered with".

Through a message on online platforms, he asserted that certain victims had been removed of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility onto the police".

A police official from the police department further reported that military attire, body armor, and weapons" were stripped from the bodies and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse