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Bruno Itan

A reporter who witnessed the consequences of a massive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has reported how community members came back with mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The bodies "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan reported. They included law enforcement personnel.

One individual was found without a head - others were "completely mutilated", he said. Several bodies showed evidence of stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims were killed during the security action against a criminal group - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness reported that he was first alerted about the operation Tuesday morning by residents living in Alemão, who reached out alerting him an armed confrontation was occurring.

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

The photographer stated that law enforcement prevented journalists from going into the operation zone, where the security measures were taking place.

"Police officers formed a line and said: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in that neighborhood, reported he was able to enter past the security perimeter, where he remained until the next morning.

He reported that Tuesday night, local residents commenced searching the elevated terrain that separates the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who had been missing after the operation.

Residents living in Penha proceeded to place the discovered victims in a square - the documented evidence show the emotions of the people there.

"The brutality of the situation affected me a lot: the grief of the families, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, sobbing, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The governor of the region declared that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to stopping a gang called the criminal faction from growing their influence.

At first, the Rio state government maintained that sixty individuals along with four officers" lost their lives in the raid.

Authorities later reported that early calculations shows that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has put the final tally of fatalities to be 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction nationally, in company with another major gang, and has a history spanning over five decades.

Per reporter a specialist, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "business partners".

The gang engages primarily in illegal drug trade, but also smuggles weapons, gold, fuel, beverages cigarettes.

Based on official reports, organization members have substantial firearms and officials reported that during the raid, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The state leader of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, labeled Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and called the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

But the number of people killed during the raid has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "shocked".

During a press briefing the next day, the official defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He further explained that the circumstances worsened due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It occurred of the resistance they executed and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

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

In a post on social media, he claimed that certain victims had been taken of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

A law enforcement representative from the police department further reported that tactical gear, body armor, and weapons" were stripped from the casualties and displayed evidence appearing to show an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse