Bulletin 2026-09UCDP data through GED 26.1, Candidate Events 26.0.9Changes in the data

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Events and deaths in organized violence, as UCDP records them

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DR Congo: events and estimated deaths in May 2026

Monthly reportDataset: UCDP Candidate Events, preliminaryData through

UCDP recorded 91 eventsP of organized violence in DR Congo in May 2026. The best estimate of deaths in these events is 535P. The low estimate is 402 and the high estimate is 652P. UCDP counts 376P of these deaths as deaths of civilians. The count for April 2026 was 47 eventsP.

The count for May 2025 was 75 events. The change from May 2025 to May 2026 is up 21 percentP. Among the 26 months with a report for DR Congo, May 2026 has the 3rd highest count of events. DR Congo holds 5 percentP of the events that UCDP recorded in all countries with a page in May 2026. In May 2025, the share was 3 percent.

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events.

Not all events in UCDP Candidate will make it into the final UCDP GED and new events will be added. The UCDP Candidate is a dataset containing events that have a high probability of being included in the final annual version of UCDP GED.

An incident where armed force was used by an organized actor against another organized actor, or against civilians, resulting in at least 1 direct death at a specific location and a specific date

UCDP's words. Source: UCDP Candidate Events Dataset Codebook, version 1.5 (Introduction) and UCDP GED Codebook, version 26.1 (section 2, the definition of an event), copied on .

This page rests on UCDP GED 26.1 and UCDP Candidate Events 26.0.9, with data through . The figures from January 2026 are from Candidate Events. Candidate Events are preliminary and UCDP revises them.

The pages give counts and their sources. They give no travel, security or safety advice. A count of events is not a measure of danger.

Regions

The table has 10 regions at most.

Table 1. DR Congo, May 2026: events and estimated deaths by region, in name order
RegionEventsPEstimated deathsP
Haut-Katanga province11
Haut-Uélé province23
Ituri province27256
Kinshasa province12
Lomami province15
Nord Kivu province38129
Sud Kivu province18131
Tshopo province22

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events.

Figure 1. Events in DR Congo, May 2026. The map shows 91 events with 535 estimated deaths. One dot is one event at the place that UCDP gives. When a source names no exact place, UCDP puts the event at the centre of a region or of the country. The area of a dot follows the best estimate of deaths. The largest dot is for 330 deaths or more.1 death10 deaths100 deathsOutlines: Natural Earth, with the first-level areas of the UCDP data. An outline shows where the events are. It is not a statement about a border.

Events

The table lists the events with 10 or more estimated deaths. The CSV file of DR Congo has each event.

Table 2. DR Congo, May 2026: events with 10 or more estimated deaths (16 of 91 events), in the order of their dates
DatePlaceSides, as UCDP writes themType of violenceEstimated deathsPLowHigh
5 May 2026Beni territory, Nord Kivu provinceIS; CiviliansOne-sided151549
6 May 2026Uvira territory, Sud Kivu provinceAFC; VDPNon-state322340
6 May 2026Mambasa territory, Ituri provinceIS; CiviliansOne-sided3700
7 May 2026Mambasa territory, Ituri provinceIS; CiviliansOne-sided292029
7 May 2026Uvira territory, Sud Kivu provinceAFC; CiviliansOne-sided474747
8 May 2026Masisi territory, Nord Kivu provinceGovernment of DR Congo (Zaire); AFCState-based211024
8 May 2026Uvira territory, Sud Kivu provinceGovernment of DR Congo (Zaire); AFCState-based171717
17 May 2026Mambasa territory, Ituri provinceIS; CiviliansOne-sided141419
19 May 2026Mambasa territory, Ituri provinceIS; CiviliansOne-sided191727
19 May 2026Mambasa territory, Ituri provinceIS; CiviliansOne-sided171732
20 May 2026Mwenga territory, Sud Kivu provinceGovernment of DR Congo (Zaire); AFCState-based21421
22 May 2026Djugu territory, Ituri provinceGovernment of DR Congo (Zaire); CRPState-based111115
22 May 2026Mambasa territory, Ituri provinceIS; CiviliansOne-sided151530
24 May 2026Mambasa territory, Ituri provinceIS; CiviliansOne-sided363636
28 May 2026Irumu territory, Ituri provinceIS; CiviliansOne-sided17017
30 May 2026Beni territory, Nord Kivu provinceIS; CiviliansOne-sided10510

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events.

In a few events, the high estimate of UCDP is lower than the best estimate, or the low estimate is higher. The site shows the figures as UCDP publishes them.

Actors, as UCDP names them

Names as UCDP writes them.

Table 3. DR Congo: actors, as UCDP names them, in the events of May 2026, in name order
Name, as UCDP writes itEventsEstimated deaths in these events
Actor not identified by UCDP1P2P
AFC39P189P
Bena Mataamba1P5P
Bena Mukendi1P5P
CRP1P11P
FDLR-FOCA2P5P
FDLR-FOCA, VDP1P3P
Government of DR Congo (Zaire)27P104P
Group named for a person (name not shown)1P2P
IS32P299P
URDPC4P10P
VDP23P69P

An event has two sides, so one event can be in two rows. The deaths are the deaths in the events of a side. The table does not say which side caused a death. Names are as UCDP writes them, with two labels that the site writes. UCDP does not identify some actors: the site writes "Actor not identified by UCDP" for each of them. UCDP names some groups for a person: the site writes "Group named for a person (name not shown)" for each of them. A line with a label can hold more than one actor.

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events.

Type of violence

Table 4. DR Congo: events by type of violence, May 2026
Type of violenceEventsShare of events
State-based armed conflict23P25%
Non-state conflict20P22%
One-sided violence against civilians48P53%

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events.

The glossary has the UCDP definition of each type.

All months

Table 5. Monthly reports of DR Congo, newest first: events and estimated deaths
MonthEventsEstimated deathsDataset
September 202643P121PCandidate Events
August 202650P189PCandidate Events
July 202671P282PCandidate Events
June 202659P266PCandidate Events
May 202691P535PCandidate Events
April 202647P382PCandidate Events
March 202644P265PCandidate Events
February 202634P134PCandidate Events
January 202657P431PCandidate Events
December 202587518GED
November 202575411GED
October 202584276GED
September 202577301GED
August 202584464GED
July 202572644GED
June 202567246GED
May 202575554GED
April 202563257GED
March 2025102471GED
February 202582513GED
January 20251634,517GED
December 202480276GED
November 202436134GED
October 202462235GED
September 202477277GED
August 202458191GED

P Preliminary. The figure is from UCDP Candidate Events, and UCDP revises these events. Search engines list a report of a month in the last 12 months that has 20 or more events. The other reports stay online and ask search engines not to list them.

DR Congo: all figures

Cite this page

ConflictStats. DR Congo: events and estimated deaths in May 2026. https://conflictstats.com/country/dr-congo/month/2026-05/. Source: Uppsala Conflict Data Program, UCDP GED 26.1 and UCDP Candidate Events 26.0.9. Data through .

The address of this page does not change. UCDP asks for a citation of its publications: Data sources and licences has it.