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In the dead of night last month, a woman was startled by explosions in a adjacent village, and subsequently warplanes circling the area. She hurried outside her home to see plumes of smoke far away.

"We were terrified. We believed the junta's planes might attack us too. So we grabbed what we could – a bit of food and clothing and escaped to the woodlands surrounding our village."

She visibly shakes as she recounts the events of what happened on 26 November in her community, found in Myanmar's western Chin area. She is one of countless residents who've abandoned their homes in the last month following the national armed forces initiated a intensive operation of air strikes, coupled with a land assault in insurgent-controlled zones nationwide.

Residents of Chin state have described the junta's latest offensive as the most intense it has unleashed in more than three years. Countless refugees have found shelter in other regions of the state. Iang is part of a group that crossed the border into India's Mizoram state. Currently sheltered in a decrepit badminton court in a village, the group's few belongings they were able to carry are packed in polyethylene bags.

An octogenarian has had to escape his village at the age of 80, staying in temporary huts in the wilderness for days, before finally reaching a secure location.

"We are terrified of our own government. They are exceptionally brutal. Their military has invaded our and other villages in the past, they've arrested people, mistreated them, and burned down homes," he says.

It isn't easy to speak to Burmese civilians freely. Myanmar's regime restricts open movement in the country for overseas correspondents. It assumed power in the country in a putsch in February 2021, shortly after the last election.

Civilian Toll and Targeted Attacks

During its latest offensive, the junta in the past week attacked a hospital in Rakhine State. Insurgent forces in Rakhine report at least 30 people were slain and more than 70 injured.

An advocacy group reports that from September onward at least multiple schools and six churches in Chin State have been attacked by military bombing, claiming the lives of 12 people including six children.

Reports indicate the shelling of a school in a village on 13 October. Two students lost their lives as they were attending lessons. The bombs tore through their classrooms harming more than a dozen other students.

For a 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 destroyed by fire in an air strike. They started over in another village. 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 heart-wrenching call it was to make to leave. But we had to do it to preserve our lives," he says.

A Questioned Electoral Process

A prominent political group, which won landslides in the two elections preceding the coup, is banned from running as most of its senior leaders are imprisoned.

"This vote is unwanted. Because the military lacks the ability to govern our country. They only work for the gain of their senior officers. When the civilian leadership was in power, we experienced a measure of democracy. But now all we do is weep and mourn," says Ral Uk Thang.

Another displaced woman believes the election will be rigged. "If we voted for a party opposed to the military, I believe they will steal our votes and claim we voted for them."

The vote will be held in phases, with a result projected around the end of January. Rebel groups have called it a pretense.

Resistance Frontline and Sacrifices

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

He indicates the areas where the most intense fighting is ongoing. "There are columns of hundreds of soldiers trying to enter the northern part of Chin state from four directions," he says. "The troops are being backed up by air strikes, artillery fire and by UAVs."

Access to such bases is highly unusual. Set amid dense jungle highlands, 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 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 set aside their dreams to serve in the conflict against the junta.

"As the enemy was retreating 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 hard for us," says one injured fighter. "Despite my injury, should I lose my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that those who follow have a better life."

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 countless numbers of young people who picked up arms that have helped the rebels make notable progress against a far stronger rival.

Individuals such as 80-year-old the man hope that post-poll, the junta will withdraw, and he will be able to go back home.

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