Heavy fighting erupted just outside the junta-held Katha Town in Sagaing Region when junta troops based in the town came into an area outside the town where resistance forces were based.
The fighting started on the morning of 15 March 2025 when about 150 junta soldiers from the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 309 in Katha Town advanced into areas of Katha Township just outside of Katha Town where resistance forces were deployed.
The fighting happened near the Natyaetwin-Pinmalut intersection just outside the town, about 6.5 km from the LIB 309 base. At its height, the junta was firing artillery from the LIB 309 base into the combat zone.
The fighting, which was the heaviest seen so far in the vicinity of Katha Town, lasted until about 2:00pm on 16 March when the junta soldiers retreated back to the LIB 309 base in the town.
Two resistance fighters were killed during the fighting and afterwards, the bodies of four junta soldiers were found in the area. The resistance forces also took 29 junta soldiers as prisoners of war and seized some weapons.
A frontline resistance source said to KNG: “Previously, the junta column only patrolled the town area. But that day, they unexpectedly entered the resistance-held zone with massive forces, sparking a fierce battle. The fighting began on 15 March, lasted through the night, and continued into the next day. There were enemy casualties, and 29 soldiers were captured alive.”
Talking of civilian casualties he said: “There were no civilian casualties from the fighting. Small-scale skirmishes happen almost every month around here, so locals are used to evacuating in advance, whether when the junta patrols or when the resistance forces carry out operations.”
Getting information out of Katha Township is hard because the junta began cutting off telephone and internet connections to most parts of Katha Township in July 2024, so KNG is still gathering details about the fighting just outside Katha Town and its aftermath.
Katha Town is considered a strategic location. It is on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River and borders Kachin State. It has a population of about 160,000 according to the 2014 census.
