🔗 Share this article

The eyewitness

An eyewitness who witnessed the aftermath of an extensive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has reported how residents returned with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The victims "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness reported. The total contained those of police officers.

A particular victim was discovered headless - additional victims were "totally disfigured", he said. Several bodies showed what appeared to be knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action against a criminal group - the most lethal operation Rio has experienced.

The photographer reported that he was first alerted to the raid Tuesday morning by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter traveled to a local medical facility, where the casualties were arriving.

Itan explained that security forces prevented journalists from going into the operation zone, where the security measures was under way.

"Security forces established a perimeter and said: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who grew up in that neighborhood, reported he succeeded to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he remained through the night.

He reported that evening, area inhabitants commenced searching the hillside which divides the Penha neighborhood from the neighboring Alemão community for relatives who had been missing since the police raid.

Community members of the Penha neighbourhood organized the discovered victims in a public space - and Itan's photos reveal the response of the people there.

"The harsh reality of it all affected me deeply: the pain of relatives, mothers fainting, women carrying children, weeping, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The governor of Rio state declared that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to halting a gang referred to as the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

Originally, the Rio state government claimed that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" lost their lives during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates indicates that 117 alleged criminals have been killed.

The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the total number of people killed at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization is the only criminal group which in recent years has managed to increase its control across the region.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction nationally, in company with a rival criminal group, and has a history dating back more than 50 years.

Based on Brazilian journalist an expert, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city for years, the gang "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "commercial associates".

The criminal group focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, but also smuggles weapons, precious metals, fuel, alcohol cigarettes.

According to the authorities, organization members are well armed and officials reported that while the action was underway, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of the region, the political leader, described gang affiliates as criminal extremists and referred to the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the operation has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities saying it was "horrified".

In a media appearance the next day, the official supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He continued that the situation intensified because the suspects had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they implemented and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."

The official also said that the victims displayed by locals in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Through a message on social media, he said that certain victims had been taken of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

A police official from the police department additionally stated that tactical gear, body armor, and arms" had been removed from the casualties and showed footage seemingly depicting a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse