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Late one night last month, Iang Za Kim listened to blasts in a neighbouring village, followed by warplanes circling the area. She dashed from her home to see a smoke cloud from a distance.

"We were horrified. We feared the regime's jets would bomb us too. So we took what we could carry – a bit of food and clothing and fled into the forests surrounding our village."

Her face trembles as she tells the account of what happened on 26 November in K-Haimual, found in Myanmar's western Chin State. She is one of countless residents who've abandoned their homes in recent weeks subsequent to the Myanmar army launched a fierce campaign of bombing runs, and a ground offensive in insurgent-controlled zones across the country.

Some from Chin state have characterized the regime's newest campaign as the most intense it has conducted 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 crossed the border into Mizoram in India. Currently sheltered in a dilapidated badminton court in Vaphai village, the group's limited items they were able to carry are packed in plastic sacks.

An elderly man has had to abandon his residence at the age of 80, living in temporary huts in the wilderness for days, before finally making it to safety.

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

It is difficult to interview Burmese civilians openly. Myanmar's military government restricts free access in the country for overseas correspondents. It seized control of the country in a military takeover in February 2021, not long after the last election.

Civilian Toll and Deliberate Attacks

In its most recent campaign, the junta last week attacked a medical facility in Rakhine. Insurgent forces in Rakhine report at least 30 people were killed and more than 70 injured.

A human rights organization says that since mid-September at least multiple schools and several churches in Chin State have been attacked by regime air raids, claiming the lives of 12 people comprising six children.

Evidence confirms the bombing of a school in Vanha village on 13 October. Two students perished as they were attending lessons. The bombs tore through their classrooms injuring more than a dozen other students.

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

"Words fail me 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 survive," he says.

A Questioned Vote

A prominent political group, which won decisive victories in the two elections prior to the coup, is not participating as the majority of its leadership are imprisoned.

"We reject this election. Because the military does not know how to govern our country. They only work for the gain of their high-ranking leaders. When the elected administration was in power, we experienced a bit of democracy. But now all we do is cry and shed tears," says the refugee.

Iang Za Kim believes the election will be rigged. "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 election will be held in phases, with a result expected around the end of January. Rebel groups have called it a pretense.

Resistance Frontline and Sacrifices

Within a compound of a prominent rebel group operating in the state, a leader states: "This vote is only being held to extend military dictatorship. It's not about the people's choice."

He highlights the areas where the most intense fighting is continuing. "Units of hundreds of soldiers trying to push into the northern part of Chin state from multiple fronts," he says. "The infantry are being supported by air strikes, artillery fire and by drone units."

Entry to such bases is very limited. Located within dense jungle highlands, it is the center of the fight against the junta in Chin state.

In a hospital at the base, a group of injured fighters were brought in overnight and had to undergo hours of surgery. Some of them have had to undergo amputations.

Several were just teenagers when the coup occurred in 2021. Now young adults, they've abandoned 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," says one injured fighter. "Although I am amputated, should I lose my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that coming generations have a improved existence."

The effect of the brutality of the recent campaign is evident in ward after ward at the hospital.

However, it's the backing and courage of tens of thousands of youths who joined the fight that have helped the rebels make significant gains against a much more powerful rival.

Individuals such as 80-year-old the elderly refugee hope that following the vote, the junta will withdraw, and he will be able to return home.

"However, I doubt I will live to see democracy reinstated in Myanmar," he says. "I hope my children and grandchildren can witness it some day."