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During the evening last month, a resident was startled by blasts in a neighbouring village, then warplanes soaring above. She hurried outside her home to see smoke rising in the distance.

"We were horrified. We feared the regime's jets could strike us too. So we seized our essentials – some food and clothes and fled into the woodlands surrounding our village."

Iang's face quivers as she narrates the story of what occurred on 26 November in K-Haimual, found in Myanmar's western Chin area. She's among thousands of civilians who've evacuated their homes in recent weeks subsequent to the Burmese military launched a relentless assault of aerial attacks, and a ground offensive in resistance territory across the country.

Residents of Chin state have labeled the regime's newest campaign as the most intense it has unleashed in more than three years. Countless refugees have looked for safety in other parts of the state. Iang is part of a group that made the border crossing into the Indian state of Mizoram. Now housed in a rundown badminton court in Vaphai village, the group's meager possessions they were able to carry are stored in sacks.

An octogenarian has had to escape his village at the age of 80, staying in improvised dwellings in the wilderness for days, prior to eventually making it to safety.

"We're afraid of our own government. They are incredibly harsh. Their military has entered our and other villages in the past, they've detained individuals, tortured them, and burned down homes," he says.

It is challenging to interview Burmese civilians openly. Myanmar's regime does not allow free access in the country for overseas correspondents. It assumed power in the country in a coup in February 2021, not long after the last election.

Civilian Toll and Deliberate Strikes

During its latest offensive, the junta in the past week attacked a medical facility in Rakhine. Insurgent forces in Rakhine report at least 30 people were killed and more than 70 hurt.

An advocacy group reports that from September onward at least multiple schools and several churches in Chin State have been attacked by junta airstrikes, killing 12 people including six children.

Evidence confirms the bombing of a school in a village on 13 October. Two students were killed as they were in class. The bombs ripped through their classrooms harming more than a dozen other students.

This is the second time, a father and his small family – a wife and two young children - have been displaced. Previously in 2021, shortly after the coup, their home was burnt down in an air strike. They started over in K-Haimual village. Now they're homeless again.

"Words fail me to explain how agonizing and challenging it is and what a difficult decision it was to make to leave. But we had to do it to survive," he says.

A Questioned Vote

A prominent political group, which won decisive victories in the two elections prior to the coup, is banned from running as the majority of its leadership are imprisoned.

"This vote is unwanted. Because the military is incapable of govern our country. They only work for the gain of their senior officers. When the civilian leadership was in power, we experienced a taste of democracy. But now all we do is grieve and lament," says Ral Uk Thang.

Iang Za Kim believes the election will be manipulated. "If we voted for a party independent from the military, I believe they will tamper with the results and claim we voted for them."

The poll will be held in phases, with a result anticipated around the end of January. Insurgent organizations have labeled it a pretense.

Resistance Frontline and Losses

At a base of a leading insurgent force operating in the state, a senior official states: "This election is only being held to prolong military dictatorship. It's not about the people's choice."

He points out the areas where the fiercest combat is ongoing. "There are columns of hundreds of soldiers trying to push into the northern part of Chin state from several axes," he says. "The infantry are being backed up by air strikes, artillery fire and by UAVs."

Visits to such bases is extremely rare. Located within thickly forested mountains, it is the heart of the fight against the junta in Chin state.

In a hospital at the base, several injured fighters were brought in overnight and had to undergo extensive medical procedures. Some of them have had to undergo limb removals.

Several were just teenagers when the coup occurred in 2021. Recently come of age, they've let go of their dreams to serve in the conflict against the junta.

"While opposing forces withdrew 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 challenging for us," says one injured fighter. "Although I am amputated, if I must sacrifice my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that future generations have a improved existence."

The impact of the ferocity of the ongoing operation is visible in room after room at the hospital.

Yet, it's the support and grit of countless numbers of youngsters who took up weapons that have helped the rebels make rapid advances against a better-equipped rival.

Some like 80-year-old the man hope that following the vote, the junta will retreat, and he will be able to repatriate.

"Yet I believe I will live to see democracy reestablished in Myanmar," he says. "I pray my children and grandchildren can see it some day."