Heavy fighting has erupted in Katha Town, Sagaing Region, bordering Kachin State, resulting in civilian casualties, though an accurate count remains difficult to obtain.
The resistance forces’ attempt to capture Katha Town has sparked fighting that has killed civilians in the crossfire, with locals and security forces saying they cannot provide an exact toll.
Clashes broke out in Katha on December 28 last year, leaving civilians dead as they tried to flee, caught in the crossfire.
Some locals, having reached the outskirts of the town, risked returning to retrieve their belongings when the fighting briefly subsided, only to be killed by artillery fire from unknown sources. Others were deliberately shot dead by junta snipers.
“The most deaths happened in Ward 5, Ward 9, and around Peinhnekone Pagoda Hill. Some locals were left behind when everyone else fled, and they didn’t survive. It’s hard to know the exact number of deaths since they happened inside the town. We can only report what we’ve learned from the displaced people who made it out,” said a resistance fighter who requested anonymity.
Resistance sources estimate that at least 20 civilians were killed during the month-long period from the start of the fighting through January 27.
Two locals who risked returning to the town to retrieve their belongings told KNG that they found rotting corpses strewn across the streets.
As residents fled the fighting, looters ransacked deserted houses, forcing displaced people to take risks by returning to their homes to recover their belongings.
“I wanted to go home too, but I didn’t dare. A friend of mine took the risk, he went back to town from the Ayeyarwady River and managed to get some of his belongings. He told us he saw some bodies that had been shot by the junta along the way,” said a displaced Katha resident.
Resistance forces attacked Katha, a town the junta had designated for voting during the election conducted through the junta’s unilateral measures.
Fighting in Katha continues, with resistance forces holding parts of the town, while the junta relies heavily on airstrikes and drone attacks to try to halt their advance.
Most Katha residents have taken refuge in villages along the Ayeyarwady River on the town’s outskirts, in Mabein Township in Shan State across the river, in Monghnyin and Myitkyina townships in Kachin State, and in Mandalay City in central Myanmar. Many fled with only the clothes on their backs and are in urgent need of assistance.
