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Late one night last month, a resident listened to explosions in a nearby village, followed by warplanes circling the area. She ran out her home to see smoke rising far away.

"We were petrified. We believed the junta's planes would bomb us too. So we seized our essentials – some food and clothes and fled into the jungles encircling our village."

She visibly shakes as she narrates the account of what happened on 26 November in her community, located in Myanmar's western Chin region. She belongs to numerous people who've abandoned their homes in recent weeks subsequent to the Myanmar army began a intensive operation of bombing runs, and a ground offensive in rebel-held areas across the country.

Residents of Chin state have characterized the junta's latest offensive as the most intense it has unleashed in the past three years. Countless refugees have looked for safety in other parts of the state. Iang is among a group that entered into Mizoram in India. At present residing in a dilapidated badminton court in Vaphai, the group's few belongings they were able to carry are packed in sacks.

An elderly man has had to abandon his residence at the age of 80, living in makeshift shelters in forests for days, prior to eventually finding refuge.

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

It is difficult to converse with Burmese civilians without restriction. Myanmar's ruling junta does not allow unfettered entry in the country for foreign journalists. It seized control of the country in a putsch in February 2021, soon after the last election.

Humanitarian Cost and Deliberate Attacks

As part of the newest operation, the junta in the past week targeted a hospital in Rakhine. Rebel groups in Rakhine claim at least 30 people were killed and more than 70 wounded.

An advocacy group says that from September onward at least several educational institutions and six churches in Chin State have been hit by junta airstrikes, killing 12 people including six children.

Evidence confirms the shelling of a school in a community on 13 October. Two students were killed as they were in class. The bombs tore through their classrooms injuring more than a dozen other students.

For a second time, Bawi Nei Lian 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 rebuilt their lives in a new community. Now they're without a home once more.

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

A Disputed Electoral Process

The National League for Democracy party, which won landslides in the two elections preceding the coup, is banned from running as its key figures are imprisoned.

"We don't want the election. Because the military is incapable of govern our country. They only work for the interest of their top officials. When the civilian leadership was in power, we experienced a bit of democracy. But now all we do is grieve and lament," says Ral Uk Thang.

A resident believes the election will be fixed. "If we participated for a party opposed to the military, I believe they will tamper with the results and claim we voted for them."

The election will be held in stages, with a result expected around the end of January. Resistance forces have labeled it a farce.

Insurgent Frontline and Sacrifices

At a base of a prominent rebel group operating in the state, a senior official states: "This vote is only being held to extend military dictatorship. It's not about the will of the people."

He indicates the areas where the most intense fighting is ongoing. "Battalions of hundreds of soldiers trying to push into the northern part of Chin state from multiple fronts," he says. "The troops are being supported by air strikes, artillery fire and by unmanned aerial vehicles."

Visits to such bases is highly unusual. Set amid thickly forested mountains, it is the core of the opposition to the junta in Chin state.

In a hospital at the base, several injured fighters were brought in overnight and had to undergo lengthy operations. Some of them have had to undergo amputations.

Several were just schoolboys when the coup occurred in 2021. Recently come of age, they've let go of their dreams to fight on the frontline against the junta.

"While opposing forces withdrew we ran forward and I triggered a landmine. We were injured in the explosion. Then we were attacked from the air. The airstrikes make things very challenging for us," states a wounded rebel. "I've lost a leg, should I lose my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that those who follow have a improved existence."

The consequence of the ferocity of the recent campaign is visible in ward after ward at the hospital.

Yet, it's the determination and resolve of many thousands of youngsters who joined the fight that have helped the rebels make significant gains 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.

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