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The photographer

An eyewitness who witnessed the aftermath of an extensive security raid in the Brazilian city has described how local people came back with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The victims "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness reported. The total contained those of police officers.

A particular victim was found without a head - additional victims were "severely damaged", he reported. Many also had what appeared to be blade trauma.

More than 120 people lost their lives during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the most lethal operation in the city.

The photographer explained that residents first notified him about the operation in the early hours by local people from the Alemão area, who contacted him alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The photographer made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were being brought.

The eyewitness reported that security forces prevented journalists from entering the operation zone, where the police action was under way.

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

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the area, explained he succeeded to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed until the next morning.

He reported that evening, area inhabitants started looking the hillside that borders the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for family members whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Local people from the Penha area arranged the discovered victims in an open area - the documented evidence show the emotions of those present.

"The brutality of it all affected me a lot: the sorrow of the families, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, weeping, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The official of the state declared that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 security personnel was intended to halting an illegal organization referred to as Red Command from expanding its territory.

Initially, state authorities stated that sixty individuals and four police officers" lost their lives in the operation.

They have since said that early calculations indicates that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

The public legal service, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the overall count of fatalities as 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has managed to make territorial gains across the region.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction in Brazil, alongside a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

According to correspondent an expert, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, the gang "works as a system" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and becoming "commercial associates".

The criminal group focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking weapons, gold, energy resources, beverages smoking products.

Based on official reports, organization members are well armed and police said that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of the region, the political leader, described organization participants as criminal extremists and called the security forces who died during the operation as brave public servants.

However, the count of people killed in the operation has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "appalled".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the state leader supported law enforcement.

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

He further explained that the events intensified because the suspects fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they carried out and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The official further reported that the victims displayed by locals in Penha were "altered".

In a post through digital channels, he said that certain victims had been stripped of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force also said that tactical gear, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the victims and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse