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Late one night last month, Iang Za Kim listened to detonations in a nearby village, and subsequently warplanes flying overhead. She ran out her home to see a smoke cloud from a distance.

"We were petrified. We thought the military's aircraft would bomb us too. So we seized our essentials – a bit of food and clothing and escaped to the woodlands surrounding our village."

She visibly shakes as she recounts the story of what occurred on 26 November in her community, located in Myanmar's western Chin area. She belongs to thousands of civilians who've evacuated their homes in recent weeks subsequent to the Burmese military launched a relentless assault of aerial attacks, coupled with a land assault in insurgent-controlled zones throughout the nation.

Some from Chin state have characterized the regime's newest campaign as the fiercest it has unleashed in the past three years. Many of the displaced have found shelter in other parts of the state. Iang is part of a group that made the border crossing into the Indian state of Mizoram. Currently sheltered in a rundown badminton court in Vaphai village, the group's few belongings they were able to carry are packed in plastic sacks.

Ral Uk Thang has had to abandon his residence at the age of 80, residing in improvised dwellings in forests for days, before finally reaching a secure location.

"We're afraid of our own government. They are exceptionally brutal. Their military has come into our and other villages in the past, they've detained individuals, mistreated them, and set houses ablaze," he says.

It is difficult to speak to Burmese civilians without restriction. Myanmar's regime does not allow open movement in the country for international reporters. It took over the country in a military takeover in February 2021, soon after the last election.

Civilian Toll and Deliberate Attacks

As part of the newest operation, the junta recently targeted a medical facility in Rakhine State. Rebel groups in Rakhine claim at least 30 people were slain and more than 70 hurt.

An advocacy group reports that over recent months at least multiple schools and a number of places of worship in Chin State have been targeted by regime air raids, claiming the lives of 12 people comprising six children.

Verification shows the destruction of a school in a community on 13 October. Two students were killed as they were studying. The bombs tore through their classrooms injuring more than a dozen other students.

This is the second time, Bawi Nei Lian and his small family – a wife and two young children - have been made homeless. In 2021, shortly after the coup, their home was burnt down in an air strike. They rebuilt their lives in a new community. Now they're without a home once more.

"I can't find the words to explain how difficult and traumatic it is and what a difficult decision it was to make to leave. But we had to do it to stay alive," he says.

A Disputed Election

The National League for Democracy party, which won landslides in the two elections preceding the coup, will not be contesting as most of its senior leaders are detained.

"We don't want the election. Because the military is incapable of govern our country. They only work for the gain of their high-ranking leaders. When the civilian leadership was in power, we experienced a bit of democracy. But now all we do is grieve and lament," says the refugee.

Another displaced woman believes the election will be fixed. "If we participated for a party opposed to the military, I believe they will falsify the outcome and claim we voted for them."

The election will take place in stages, with a result expected around the end of January. Resistance forces have declared it a sham.

Resistance Battleground and Losses

In a headquarters of a prominent rebel group operating in the state, a leader states: "This election is only being held to prolong military dictatorship. It's not about the public's voice."

He highlights the areas where the most intense fighting is taking place. "There are columns of hundreds of soldiers trying to advance into the northern part of Chin state from four directions," he says. "The troops are being supported by air strikes, artillery fire and by unmanned aerial vehicles."

Visits to such bases is extremely rare. Set amid dense jungle highlands, it is the core of the opposition to the junta in Chin state.

Within a clinic at the base, a group of injured fighters were admitted overnight and had to undergo hours of surgery. Some of them have had to undergo surgeries.

Many of them were just schoolboys when the coup occurred in 2021. Now young adults, they've abandoned their dreams to serve in the conflict against the junta.

"During the pullback we ran forward and I detonated a landmine. We were injured in the explosion. Then we were attacked from the air. The airstrikes make things very hard for us," states a wounded rebel. "Despite my injury, should I lose my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that coming generations have a improved existence."

The consequence of the ferocity of the recent campaign is evident in room after room at the hospital.

Yet, it's the determination and resolve of many thousands of youngsters who picked up arms that have helped the rebels make significant gains against a better-equipped rival.

Some like 80-year-old Ral Uk Thang hope that following the vote, the junta will withdraw, and he will be able to go back home.

"But I don't think I will live to see democracy restored in Myanmar," he says. "I wish my children and grandchildren can see it some day."