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The photographer

A photographer who documented the aftermath of an extensive Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has reported how community members returned with mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The casualties "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan stated. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - additional victims were "severely damaged", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what he described as stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims lost their lives during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

The photographer stated that residents first notified him concerning the action Tuesday morning by community members living in Alemão, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The eyewitness traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were arriving.

Itan explained that security forces prevented journalists from going into the operation zone, where the police action were taking place.

"Security forces established a perimeter and declared: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who spent his childhood in the community, explained he succeeded to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed through the night.

He reported that Tuesday night, local residents started looking the elevated terrain that separates the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Community members from the Penha area organized the located casualties in a public space - and Itan's photos show the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of the situation impacted me profoundly: the sorrow of loved ones, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, crying, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The official of the region stated that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 officers was designed to halting a gang called Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory.

Originally, local officials claimed that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" were fatally injured during the action.

They have since said that initial estimates suggests that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the overall count of fatalities at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has been able to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction in the country, together with First Capital Command, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

Based on Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio for years, Red Command "functions as a network" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "business partners".

The gang concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in guns, gold, fuel, liquor and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and police said that throughout the operation, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The official of the state, Cláudio Castro, characterized gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and described the four police officers who died during the operation as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the operation has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "horrified".

During a press briefing the next day, the state leader defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We intended to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He continued that the situation worsened because the suspects fought back: "It resulted of the resistance they implemented and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."

The official additionally stated that the casualties displayed by locals in the neighborhood had been "manipulated".

Via a statement on online platforms, he asserted that particular individuals had been taken of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation onto the police".

A police official from the police department additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and weapons" had been removed from the victims and presented video apparently demonstrating an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse