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The eyewitness

A reporter who observed the aftermath of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has recounted how local people brought back disfigured remains of those who had died.

The victims "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan described. The total contained those of police officers.

A particular victim was discovered headless - while others appeared "severely damaged", he said. Many also had what he described as blade trauma.

More than 120 people were killed during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness explained that he initially learned to the raid Tuesday morning by local people from the Alemão area, who sent him messages informing him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness went to a local medical facility, where the bodies were arriving.

Itan explained that the police blocked media personnel from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures was under way.

"Police officers established a perimeter and announced: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who was raised in the area, stated he managed to enter past the security perimeter, where he continued until the next morning.

He described that evening, community members commenced searching the hillside that borders the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who had been missing since the police raid.

Local people living in Penha proceeded to place the recovered bodies in an open area - the documented evidence display the reaction of those present.

"The harsh reality of it all impacted me deeply: the sorrow of relatives, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, weeping, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The governor of the state announced that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 officers was designed to stopping a criminal group referred to as the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

At first, state authorities stated that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" were fatally injured during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates shows that 117 individuals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has calculated the overall count of fatalities to be 132.

According to researchers, Red Command represents the unique criminal entity that recently has succeeded to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction nationally, in company with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

According to Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio for years, the gang "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "commercial associates".

The organization engages primarily in illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking weapons, valuable minerals, petroleum products, beverages cigarettes.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and officials reported that during the raid, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of the region, the government representative, labeled organization participants as drug terrorists and described the security forces fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

But the number of casualties during the raid has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials stating they were "horrified".

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

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We wanted to take suspects into custody without harm," he declared.

He continued that the circumstances intensified because the suspects fought back: "It occurred of the resistance they carried out and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The governor further reported that the bodies shown by residents in the neighborhood had been "manipulated".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that particular individuals had been stripped of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "in order to shift blame to security forces".

A police official from the police department also said that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and weapons" were stripped from the victims and presented video seemingly depicting an individual cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse