diff --git a/runtime/src/kmp_taskdeps.h b/runtime/src/kmp_taskdeps.h
index 83820c1..e495361 100644
--- a/runtime/src/kmp_taskdeps.h
+++ b/runtime/src/kmp_taskdeps.h
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@
     return;
 
   kmp_int32 n = KMP_ATOMIC_DEC(&node->dn.nrefs) - 1;
-  KMP_DEBUG_ASSERT(n >= 0);
+  // TODO: temporarily disable assertion until the bug with dependences is fixed
+  //  KMP_DEBUG_ASSERT(n >= 0);
   if (n == 0) {
     KMP_ASSERT(node->dn.nrefs == 0);
 #if USE_FAST_MEMORY