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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who documented the consequences of an extensive Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has reported how community members returned with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The casualties "kept piling up: the numbers kept rising", the photographer described. The total contained security forces.

One of the bodies had been decapitated - others were "severely damaged", he explained. Several bodies showed evidence of stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims lost their lives during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action in the city.

The eyewitness reported that he initially learned concerning the action early on Tuesday by local people living in Alemão, who sent him messages informing him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer traveled to the healthcare center, where the casualties were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that security forces prevented journalists from going into the operation zone, where the security measures were occurring.

"Police officers created a barrier and said: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

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

He described that evening, local residents began to search the elevated terrain which divides the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Residents from the Penha area organized the recovered bodies in a square - the documented evidence show the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of it all affected me a lot: the pain of relatives, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, crying, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The governor of the state declared that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 officers was intended to stopping a gang called the criminal faction from increasing their control.

At first, the Rio state government stated that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" had been killed during the action.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the overall count of people killed to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command represents the unique criminal entity that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, in company with another major gang, with a background extending half a century.

According to correspondent Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio for years, Red Command "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "commercial associates".

The organization focuses mainly on drug trafficking, while also dealing in firearms, precious metals, energy resources, liquor and tobacco.

According to the authorities, gang members possess significant weaponry and police said that while the action was underway, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of the region, Cláudio Castro, characterized Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and called the four police officers fatally injured in the action as brave public servants.

But the number of casualties in the operation has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities stating they were "shocked".

At a news conference on Wednesday, Governor Castro justified security actions.

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

He continued that the circumstances had escalated as the individuals fought back: "It resulted of the counterattack they carried out and the overwhelming response by those criminals."

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

Via a statement on social media, he said 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, body armor, and firearms" were taken away from the victims and showed footage apparently demonstrating a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse