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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who witnessed the aftermath of an extensive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has described how community members returned with badly injured victims of the deceased individuals.

The casualties "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness described. Among them were those of police officers.

One individual was found without a head - others were "severely damaged", he explained. Several bodies showed what appeared to be blade trauma.

More than 120 people lost their lives in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness explained that he initially learned concerning the action in the early hours by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him alerting him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that security forces blocked media personnel from going into the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures was under way.

"Security forces formed a line and declared: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in that neighborhood, stated he succeeded to gain access into the restricted zone, where he remained through the night.

He reported that Tuesday night, local residents commenced searching the hillside which divides the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for relatives who had been missing after the operation.

Local people living in Penha organized the recovered bodies in a square - the documented evidence display the response of the people there.

"The violence of the situation impacted me deeply: the sorrow of relatives, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, weeping, outraged parents," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The governor of the region stated that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 officers was intended to stopping a criminal group referred to as the criminal faction from increasing their control.

Initially, state authorities maintained that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed during the action.

Authorities later reported that initial estimates shows that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has put the total number of people killed as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization is the only criminal group that in the past few years has succeeded to expand its territory across the region.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, in company with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Per reporter a specialist, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city extensively, the criminal organization "works as a system" with area gang leaders joining the organization and serving as "operational allies".

The organization engages primarily in drug trafficking, additionally trafficking weapons, valuable minerals, energy resources, alcohol and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and officials reported that during the raid, they came under attack using drone-delivered explosives.

The official of Rio state, the government representative, labeled organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and described the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as brave public servants.

However, the count of fatalities in the operation has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "horrified".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the official defended the police force.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he said.

He continued that the circumstances had escalated as the individuals had retaliated: "It occurred of the resistance they carried out and the disproportionate use of force from the gang members."

The state leader further reported that the victims presented by community members in Penha had been "manipulated".

In a post through digital channels, he asserted that particular individuals had been removed of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility onto the police".

A police official of Rio's civil police force further reported that "camouflage clothing, vests, and arms" were taken away from the bodies and displayed evidence seemingly depicting an individual cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse