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During the evening last month, a woman heard explosions in a neighbouring village, followed by fighter jets soaring above. She hurried outside her home to see plumes of smoke in the distance.

"We were petrified. We thought the regime's jets would bomb us too. So we grabbed what we could – some food and clothes and ran into the forests surrounding our village."

Iang's face quivers as she narrates the account of what happened on 26 November in her village, situated in Myanmar's western Chin region. She belongs to thousands of civilians who've abandoned their homes in the last month subsequent to the Myanmar army launched a relentless assault of air strikes, and a ground offensive in rebel-held areas across the country.

Residents of Chin state have labeled the military's recent operation as the fiercest it has unleashed in more than three years. Countless refugees have sought refuge in other parts of the state. Iang is part of a group that entered into the Indian state of Mizoram. Now housed in a dilapidated badminton court in a village, the group's few belongings they were able to carry are stored in sacks.

An octogenarian has had to flee his home at the age of 80, staying in makeshift shelters in forests for days, until at last reaching a secure location.

"We're afraid of our own government. They are extremely cruel. Their military has come into our and other villages in the past, they've taken citizens, abused them, and set houses ablaze," he says.

It is challenging to interview Burmese civilians openly. Myanmar's military government prohibits open movement in the country for foreign journalists. It seized control of the country in a military takeover in February 2021, not long after the last election.

Humanitarian Toll and Targeted Attacks

In its most recent campaign, the junta in the past week attacked a clinic in Rakhine. Resistance organizations in Rakhine say at least 30 people were lost their lives and more than 70 hurt.

A monitoring body states that since mid-September at least three schools and six churches in Chin State have been hit by military bombing, claiming the lives of 12 people among them six children.

Reports indicate the destruction of a school in Vanha village on 13 October. Two students lost their lives as they were attending lessons. The bombs ripped through their classrooms injuring more than a dozen other students.

Once again, a father and his loved ones – a wife and two young children - have been displaced. Back in 2021, following the coup, their home was destroyed by fire in an air strike. They reconstructed their existence in another village. Now they're displaced a second time.

"It's hard to express to explain how painful and hard it is and what a tough choice it was to make to leave. But we had to do it to preserve our lives," he says.

A Questioned Vote

A prominent political group, which won landslides in the two elections prior to the coup, is banned from running as its key figures are in jail.

"This vote is unwanted. Because the military is incapable of govern our country. They only work for the benefit of their top officials. When the previous government was in power, we experienced a bit of democracy. But now all we do is cry and shed tears," says Ral Uk Thang.

Iang Za Kim believes the election will be rigged. "If we participated for a party opposed to the military, I believe they will falsify the outcome and claim we voted for them."

The vote will be held in phases, with a result projected around the end of January. Insurgent organizations have declared it a pretense.

Resistance Battleground and Sacrifices

At a base of a leading insurgent force operating in the state, a senior official states: "This vote is only being held to extend military dictatorship. It's not about the public's voice."

He highlights the areas where the fiercest combat is ongoing. "Battalions of hundreds of soldiers trying to advance into the northern part of Chin state from multiple fronts," he says. "The soldiers are being supported by air strikes, artillery fire and by UAVs."

Visits to such bases is highly unusual. Set amid wooded hills, it is the heart of the opposition to the junta in Chin state.

Within a clinic at the base, numerous injured fighters had arrived overnight and had to undergo hours of surgery. Some of them have had to undergo limb removals.

A significant number were just schoolboys when the coup occurred in 2021. Now young adults, they've set aside their dreams to fight on the frontline against the junta.

"As the enemy was retreating we ran forward and I detonated a landmine. We were injured in the explosion. Then we were targeted by aircraft. The airstrikes make things very difficult for us," explains a combatant. "I've lost a leg, even if I've to give up my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that coming generations have a brighter future."

The consequence of the intensity of the ongoing operation is evident in every corner at the hospital.

Nevertheless, it's the determination and resolve of countless numbers of young people who picked up arms that have helped the rebels make rapid advances against a better-equipped rival.

Individuals such as 80-year-old Ral Uk Thang hope that following the vote, the junta will retreat, and he will be able to repatriate.

"However, I doubt I will live to see democracy restored in Myanmar," he says. "I pray my children and grandchildren can experience it some day."