The victims kept arriving - reporter shares deadly Rio security action

The eyewitness

A photographer who observed the results of a massive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has reported how residents brought back disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The casualties "kept coming: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan described. Among them were security forces.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - additional victims were "severely damaged", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be stab wounds.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during the security action against a criminal group - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness stated that residents first notified him about the operation Tuesday morning by residents living in Alemão, who contacted him informing him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer went to a local medical facility, where the victims were being brought.

The photographer stated that security forces stopped members of the press from entering the affected area, where the police action were taking place.

"Police officers formed a line and declared: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'."

But Itan, who was raised in the area, explained he managed to gain access into the restricted zone, where he stayed until the next morning.

He described during the night, local residents began to search the mountainous area that separates the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for family members who had been missing following the security action.

Local people of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the located casualties in an open area - the photographer's images display the response of those present.

"The violence of the situation affected me deeply: the pain of relatives, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, weeping, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The photographer

The official of the state declared that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 security personnel was aimed at stopping a criminal group referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

At first, state authorities maintained that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured in the raid.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has estimated the overall count of fatalities at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang is the only criminal group that in the past few years has been able to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, in company with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

Based on Brazilian journalist an expert, who has been covering crime in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "operational allies".

The gang engages primarily in narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, precious metals, fuel, liquor cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members have substantial firearms and officials reported that during the raid, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The official of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, labeled gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and called the security forces fatally injured in the action as brave public servants.

But the number of casualties in the operation has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "shocked".

In a media appearance the following day, the official defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he stated.

He added that the situation worsened as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they implemented and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The governor further reported that the bodies presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Through a message through digital channels, he asserted that certain victims had been taken of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A police official from the police department additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and weapons" were taken away from the bodies and showed footage appearing to show a man stripping military attire {off a corpse