deathtoll.info

Since 7 November 2021 · Day 1,803

DR Congo Death Toll

Deaths from organised violence since 7 November 2021, recorded event by event by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP): civilians, the parties to the war and other armed groups. Every figure has a source, a type of source and a reference date.

DR Congo

Updated monthly

28,279

deaths from organised violence, best estimate (range 25,591 to 57,300)

Type of source: Monitor UCDP, up to 31 Aug 2026

Other counts

Counts by the UN, governments and independent monitors, each with its own period and definition. They are shown next to the UCDP figure and never added to it.

  • Civilians killed by ADF in Ituri, Beni and Lubero, documented by the UN 962

    Type of source: Verified by UN UN Joint Human Rights Office, 1 Jun 2025 to 31 May 2026

    In the same areas the UN attributes the summary execution of 116 civilians to the Congolese army (FARDC).

  • Killings amounting to summary execution in North and South Kivu outside Beni and Lubero, documented by the UN, at least 977

    Type of source: Verified by UN UN Joint Human Rights Office, 1 Jun 2025 to 31 May 2026

    The report does not split these killings by perpetrator; armed groups, mainly AFC/M23 and Wazalendo, account for 99 per cent of all abuses it documented in the two provinces.

  • Civilians killed by AFC/M23 in one month 60

    Type of source: Monitor Kivu Security Tracker (Ebuteli), 1 Aug 2026 to 31 Aug 2026

    Monthly count by a network of local observers in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.

  • Civilians killed by ADF in one month 72

    Type of source: Monitor Kivu Security Tracker (Ebuteli), 1 Aug 2026 to 31 Aug 2026

    In the same month the tracker attributed 15 civilian deaths to the Congolese army (FARDC).

  • Children killed, verified by the UN 519

    Type of source: Verified by UN UN Secretary-General, children and armed conflict, 1 Jan 2025 to 31 Dec 2025

    Another 399 children were maimed; of the 918 casualties the UN attributes 404 to M23, 109 to CODECO, 100 to the Congolese army and the rest to other armed groups or unidentified perpetrators.

Latest update

172

deaths in August 2026, the latest month in the data

Breakdown

Civilians
18,444
65%
Government forces of DR Congo
2,132
8%
M23 and the Congo River Alliance (AFC)
1,395
5%
Other armed groups
2,752
10%
Not assigned
3,556
13%

UCDP assigns each death to the civilians or to a party where the sources allow it, and otherwise to not assigned. Deaths of a party are deaths among its own forces.

Increase

Past 12 months
+3,918
September 2025 to August 2026
In 2026 so far
+2,412
January to August 2026

Scope

All of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; most of the violence takes place in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri. Counted: fighting between a government and armed groups, fighting between armed groups, and deliberate killings of civilians by an organised group, in events with at least one death.

Sources

Deaths per month

Best estimate per month, all groups together. The months of 2026 come from the monthly candidate data and can still change.

The chart needs JavaScript. The same figures are in the table below.

Show as monthly table
Deaths per month
MonthDeathsTotal since the start
August 202617228,279
July 202627328,107
June 202617727,834
May 202653527,657
April 202638227,122
March 202631526,740
February 202613426,425
January 202642426,291
December 202551825,867
November 202541125,349
October 202527624,938
September 202530124,662
August 202546424,361
July 202564423,897
June 202524623,253
May 202555423,007
April 202525722,453
March 202547122,196
February 202551321,725
January 20254,51721,212
December 202427616,695
November 202413416,419
October 202423516,285
September 202427716,050
August 202419115,773
July 202426815,582
June 20241,04115,314
May 202432614,273
April 202445913,947
March 202422013,488
February 202441813,268
January 20241,60112,850
December 202318411,249
November 202325211,065
October 202335410,813
September 202325810,459
August 202333610,201
July 20232409,865
June 20232509,625
May 20233069,375
April 20239349,069
March 20235028,135
February 20233247,633
January 20234437,309
December 20224116,866
November 20221,0506,455
October 20223275,405
September 20224085,078
August 20225034,670
July 20222894,167
June 20224123,878
May 20226733,466
April 20223592,793
March 20224522,434
February 20225051,982
January 20225311,477
December 2021490946
November 2021456456

What is not counted

Notes on method

Period

The page starts on 7 November 2021, when the M23 resumed its armed campaign in North Kivu. Violence by other armed groups in the country since that date, such as the Islamic State (ADF) and CODECO, is included.

Parties

UCDP records the M23 as part of the Congo River Alliance (AFC) from December 2023.

Source

The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) at Uppsala University records organised violence event by event, from news media, reports of humanitarian and human rights organisations and other sources. For every event it gives a best estimate of the number of deaths, with a low and a high estimate. This page adds up the best estimates.

The final data run to the end of 2025 (GED 26.1). The months of 2026 come from the monthly candidate data (26.01.26.06, 26.0.7, 26.0.8), which UCDP revises when it publishes the final version.

Groups

For each event UCDP records the deaths among each of the two parties, the civilians killed and the deaths it cannot assign. On this page the parties named in the breakdown are shown separately; all other organised armed groups are combined.

Comparability

UCDP counts in the same way in every war, so its figures can be compared between wars better than counts by the parties. They are usually lower than estimates that include indirect deaths, and they can differ from figures published by governments or armed groups.

Citation

Davies, Pettersson and Öberg (2026), Journal of Peace Research; Sundberg and Melander (2013), Journal of Peace Research 50(4); Hegre, Croicu, Eck and Högbladh (2020), Research and Politics. UCDP is funded through DEMSCORE (Swedish Research Council, grant 2021-00162). The data are licensed under CC BY 4.0.