What is Hengaw?: Hengaw is a Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation founded in 2016 to monitor violations in Iran's Kurdish-majority provinces. Since the Iran conflict began on 28 February 2026, it has become the principal independent source for casualty data, publishing numbered war reports tracking deaths, civilian casualties, and arrests that consistently exceed official Iranian figures.Source: Hengaw
How many people has Hengaw counted dead in the Iran war?: Hengaw's eighth report (published approximately 28 March 2026) documented 6,900 killed in the first month of conflict: approximately 6,180 military and 720 civilians. This is roughly 3.5 times the Iranian Health Ministry's revised official figure of 1,937 killed over the same period.Source: Hengaw Report 8
Why does Hengaw report higher death tolls than Iran's government?: Hengaw includes both military and civilian casualties using on-the-ground contacts and open-source intelligence, while Iran's Health Ministry publishes civilian figures only and controls the data. The fourfold gap follows the pattern established during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, when official counts ran at one-quarter of independent tallies.Source: Hengaw
How does Hengaw compare to HRANA on Iran casualty counts?: Both are independent monitors, but their methodologies differ. As of Day 25, Hengaw reported 6,530 killed versus HRANA's 3,291, and Iran's Health Ministry's 1,750. Hengaw counts military personnel and has deep networks in Kurdish border provinces; HRANA focuses on civilian casualties and operates from the US.Source: Lowdown
Has Hengaw stopped publishing reports?: Hengaw went silent for five days after Day 25 of the conflict (24 March 2026), its longest reporting gap since the war began. This raised concern among analysts given it is the most credible independent casualty counter. Reports resumed with the eighth update covering the full first month.Source: Lowdown

Background

Hengaw is a Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation founded in 2016 to monitor violations in Iran's five Kurdish-majority provinces: Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, West Azerbaijan, and Lorestan. It operates through a network of on-the-ground contacts, publishing verified reports on executions, detentions, labour conditions, and conflict casualties. The organisation is independent of the Iranian government and operates remotely.

Hengaw's eighth war report documented 6,900 killed through Day 29 of the conflict, including 720 civilians: 150 children and 190 women. Deaths spanned 190 cities across 27 provinces at a rate of approximately 92 per day. Iran's official figure remained frozen at 1,937, a ratio consistent with the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, when independent counts ran at one-quarter to one-third of government totals. A separate report documented at least 1,700 wartime arrests, including over 300 Kurdish detainees across five border provinces.

Hengaw went silent for five days after Day 25, the longest gap in its reporting since the conflict began. It also documented Iranian military forces relocating into schools, dormitories, and mosques, placing civilians at additional risk. HRANA provides complementary civilian-focused data; together they form the independent casualty monitoring infrastructure for the conflict.

Source Material

Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights — Official Website Reuters Middle East coverage citing Hengaw casualty data Hengaw — Wikipedia

How the World Sees Them

Iran

Tehran has dismissed Hengaw as a separatist-linked, foreign-based outlet, citing its Kurdish identity and Norwegian base as evidence of foreign backing. The conflict deepened that tension: Hengaw's reports circulate internationally and directly undercut the government's casualty narrative.

Kurdish communities

Hengaw exists primarily to give voice to Iran's Kurdish population, which faces compounded vulnerability: longstanding ethnic marginalisation plus the heaviest concentration of military installations. Report 8 documented 1,700+ wartime arrests targeting Kurdish border provinces.

Western governments

US and European officials cite Hengaw data in statements on the conflict's humanitarian toll. Its methodology — verified contacts, cross-referenced open-source intelligence — gives it credibility for policy citation, though it is strongest on the Kurdish provinces where it has deep networks.

International human rights bodies

UNICEF and the UN Human Rights Office treat Hengaw reports as credible independent data, citing them alongside Health Ministry figures when the two diverge. UNICEF's child casualty count and Hengaw's civilian breakdown have been used as complementary, mutually reinforcing sources.