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During the evening last month, Iang Za Kim heard detonations in a adjacent village, and subsequently fighter jets soaring above. She hurried outside her home to see a smoke cloud from a distance.

"We were terrified. We feared the military's aircraft would bomb us too. So we took what we could carry – provisions and garments and escaped to the forests around our village."

Her face trembles as she recounts the account of what transpired on 26 November in her village, located in Myanmar's western Chin region. She's among thousands of civilians who've abandoned their homes in the last month subsequent to the national armed forces began a intensive operation of air strikes, coupled with a land assault in rebel-held areas across the country.

Residents of Chin state have characterized the military's recent operation as the fiercest it has unleashed in the past three years. Countless refugees have found shelter in different areas of the state. Iang is part of a group that entered into Mizoram in India. Currently sheltered in a dilapidated badminton court in Vaphai, the group's meager possessions they were able to carry are contained in plastic sacks.

Ral Uk Thang has had to abandon his residence at the age of 80, staying in improvised dwellings in jungles for days, prior to eventually finding refuge.

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

It isn't easy to speak to Burmese civilians without restriction. Myanmar's ruling junta does not allow open movement in the country for foreign journalists. It seized control of the country in a military takeover in February 2021, shortly after the last election.

Civilian Cost and Deliberate Attacks

As part of the newest operation, the junta last week targeted a hospital in a western state. Rebel groups in Rakhine report at least 30 people were slain and more than 70 hurt.

An advocacy group says that from September onward at least multiple schools and six churches in Chin State have been attacked by regime air raids, causing the death of 12 people among them six children.

Evidence confirms the destruction of a school in a community on 13 October. Two students were killed as they were attending lessons. The bombs devastated their classrooms harming more than a dozen other students.

This is the second time, Bawi Nei Lian and his loved ones – a wife and two young children - have been displaced. Previously in 2021, soon after the coup, their home was destroyed by fire in an air strike. They rebuilt their lives in another village. Now they're homeless again.

"I can't find the words 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 stay alive," he says.

A Questioned Vote

The former ruling party, which won decisive victories in the two elections before the coup, will not be contesting as the majority of its leadership are imprisoned.

"We don't want the election. Because the military does not know how to govern our country. They only work for the benefit of their senior officers. When the previous government was in power, we experienced a bit of democracy. But now all we do is grieve and lament," says the refugee.

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

The vote will take place in rounds, with a result projected around the end of January. Insurgent organizations have declared it a sham.

Insurgent Battleground and Losses

In a headquarters of a prominent rebel group operating in the state, a vice chairman states: "This process is only being held to perpetuate military dictatorship. It's not about the will of the people."

He highlights the areas where the heaviest clashes is taking place. "Battalions of hundreds of soldiers trying to enter the northern part of Chin state from four directions," he says. "The infantry are being aided by air strikes, artillery fire and by UAVs."

Entry to such bases is extremely rare. Situated in thickly forested mountains, it is the center of the fight against the junta in Chin state.

At a medical facility at the base, numerous injured fighters had arrived overnight and had to undergo lengthy operations. Some of them have had to undergo surgeries.

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

"While opposing forces withdrew we ran forward and I stepped on a landmine. We were injured in the explosion. Then we were attacked from the air. The airstrikes make things very difficult for us," explains a combatant. "Despite my injury, even if I've to give up my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that those who follow have a better life."

The effect of the intensity of the ongoing operation is apparent in every corner at the hospital.

Yet, it's the support and grit of tens of thousands of youths who joined the fight that have helped the rebels make rapid advances against a far stronger rival.

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

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