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The photographer

A photographer who documented the consequences of an extensive security raid in the Brazilian city has reported how community members returned with mutilated bodies of those who had died.

The bodies "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness stated. Among them were security forces.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Numerous victims displayed 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 eyewitness reported that residents first notified him to the raid Tuesday morning by community members from the Alemão area, who contacted him telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

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

The eyewitness reported that the police prevented journalists from accessing the operation zone, where the operation were occurring.

"Police officers created a barrier and declared: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the community, stated he managed to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed until the next morning.

He described that Tuesday night, area inhabitants started looking the hillside which divides Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who had been missing following the security action.

Residents from the Penha area arranged the discovered victims in an open area - the photographer's images reveal the response of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of what occurred shook me deeply: the pain of loved ones, women collapsing, pregnant wives, crying, outraged parents," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The official of the state declared that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to stopping an illegal organization called Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

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

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

The public legal service, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the final tally of casualties to be 132.

Per investigative findings, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains across the region.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs nationally, alongside First Capital Command, with a background extending half a century.

Based on correspondent an expert, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city over many years, the gang "functions as a network" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "commercial associates".

The criminal group engages primarily in narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking guns, valuable minerals, energy resources, beverages smoking products.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates are well armed and police said that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of the region, Cláudio Castro, described Red Command members as criminal extremists and described the law enforcement personnel fatally injured in the action as brave public servants.

But the number of casualties during the raid has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials saying it was "shocked".

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

"We did not plan to result in deaths. We aimed to take suspects into custody without harm," he stated.

He further explained that the situation intensified because the suspects had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the resistance they implemented and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The state leader additionally stated that the victims presented by community members in the area had been "tampered with".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that certain victims had been removed of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

A police official representing security forces additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and arms" were taken away from the bodies and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse