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Late one night last month, a resident heard blasts in a neighbouring village, then warplanes soaring above. She hurried outside her home to see a smoke cloud in the distance.

"We were petrified. We believed the junta's planes would bomb us too. So we seized our essentials – some food and clothes and escaped to the forests surrounding our village."

Iang's face quivers as she tells the account of what occurred on 26 November in her village, located in Myanmar's western Chin State. She belongs to countless residents who've evacuated their homes in the last month subsequent to the national armed forces launched a intensive operation of air strikes, alongside infantry advances in resistance territory throughout the nation.

Some from Chin state have labeled the military's recent operation as the most intense it has launched in over three years. A large number of those uprooted have sought refuge in other regions of the state. Iang is among a group that made the border crossing into Mizoram in India. Currently sheltered in a dilapidated badminton court in a village, the group's meager possessions they were able to carry are packed 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 are terrified of our own government. They are extremely cruel. Their military has invaded our and other villages in the past, they've detained individuals, tortured them, and destroyed residences," he says.

It is difficult to interview Burmese civilians freely. Myanmar's ruling junta does not allow open movement in the country for overseas correspondents. It took over the country in a coup in February 2021, shortly after the last election.

Humanitarian Cost and Targeted Attacks

During its latest offensive, the junta recently struck a medical facility in a western state. Resistance organizations in Rakhine report at least 30 people were lost their lives and more than 70 injured.

A human rights organization says that over recent months at least three schools and a number of places of worship in Chin State have been hit by military bombing, killing 12 people including six children.

Reports indicate the bombing of a school in a village on 13 October. Two students perished as they were in class. The bombs tore through their classrooms injuring more than a dozen other students.

Once again, a man and his small family – a wife and two young children - have been made homeless. In 2021, following the coup, their home was destroyed by fire in an air strike. They rebuilt their lives in a new community. Now they're displaced a second time.

"It's hard to express to explain how agonizing and challenging 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 Disputed Electoral Process

A prominent political group, which won overwhelming majorities in the two elections prior to the coup, is banned from running as most of its senior leaders are detained.

"We reject this election. Because the military lacks the ability to govern our country. They only work for the interest of their high-ranking leaders. When the previous government was in power, we experienced a taste 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 participated for a party independent from the military, I believe they will tamper with the results and claim we voted for them."

The poll will occur in rounds, with a result anticipated around the end of January. Resistance forces have declared it a pretense.

Insurgent Frontline and Sacrifices

In a headquarters of a key resistance organization operating in the state, a senior official states: "This vote is only being held to prolong military dictatorship. It's not about the will of the people."

He highlights the areas where the heaviest clashes is taking place. "There are columns 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. Located within dense jungle highlands, it is the heart of the opposition to the junta in Chin state.

At a medical facility at the base, numerous injured fighters were brought in 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. Recently come of age, they've abandoned their dreams to engage in combat 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 targeted by aircraft. The airstrikes make things very difficult for us," says one injured fighter. "Although I am amputated, even if I've to give up my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that coming generations have a better life."

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

Nevertheless, it's the backing and courage of tens of thousands of youngsters who picked up arms that have helped the rebels make notable progress against a better-equipped rival.

Individuals such as 80-year-old the man hope that after the election, the junta will pull back, and he will be able to go back home.

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