In Katha Town, Sagaing Region, where nearly the entire population was displaced by fighting, some residents who briefly returned to collect their belongings were killed in junta airstrikes.
Late last year, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), People’s Defence Force (PDF) under the National Unity Government, the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and the Spring Revolution Alliance (SRA) launched a joint offensive to seize Katha Town near the Kachin State border, triggering heavy clashes.
Fighting in Katha began on December 28, the same day junta-supervised Phase 1 voting took place. Since then, it has carried out airstrikes on villages on the outskirts of Katha Town, with aircraft bombing nearly the entire town except the downtown area.
The clashes have forced residents to flee as internally displaced people (IDPs), seeking refuge in villages along the Ayeyarwady River near Katha, as well as in Mabein Town in Shan State, Monghnyin Town and the state capital Myitkyina in Kachin State, and Mandalay City in Mandalay Region.
“Some IDPs took the risk and went back into town to collect their belongings. Some of them were killed when bombs hit during airstrikes, though others managed to return safely. Many people who had to leave everything behind when they fled were in deep distress, with nothing they could do but cry. Some who went back temporarily were killed by the bombing, so we didn’t dare to return—we were too afraid,” said a woman currently taking refuge in Mabein.
A Grade 12 student who tried to return to town to retrieve belongings was killed in an airstrike, said a local from a riverside village on the outskirts of Katha who is currently displaced.
“The kid was killed in a junta airstrike on Weagyi Village near Katha. He had fled Katha and went back briefly two days later to collect his belongings, but that’s when the tragedy happened,” he told KNG.
On January 2, a junta aircraft bombed Henar Village, about 15 miles from Katha, killing a man in his 50s and injuring three civilians.
In 2023, at the height of armed resistance nationwide, resistance forces gained control of most rural areas of Katha Township, except for downtown Katha.
