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In the dead of night last month, a woman was startled by detonations in a nearby village, followed by military aircraft flying overhead. She hurried outside her home to see a smoke cloud in the distance.

"We were terrified. We feared the military's aircraft might attack us too. So we took what we could carry – some food and clothes and escaped to the woodlands surrounding our village."

She visibly shakes as she narrates the story of what occurred on 26 November in her community, located in Myanmar's western Chin region. She belongs to numerous people who've abandoned their homes in the last month following the national armed forces launched a relentless assault of air strikes, and a ground offensive in insurgent-controlled zones across the country.

Some from Chin state have characterized the regime's newest campaign as the fiercest it has launched 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. Now housed in a decrepit badminton court in a village, the group's meager possessions they were able to carry are stored in sacks.

An octogenarian has had to abandon his residence at the age of 80, residing in temporary huts in forests for days, until at last making it to safety.

"We're afraid of our own government. They are extremely cruel. Their military has entered our and other villages in the past, they've detained individuals, mistreated them, and destroyed residences," he says.

It isn't easy to converse with Burmese civilians without restriction. Myanmar's military government does not allow unfettered entry in the country for foreign journalists. It assumed power in the country in a putsch in February 2021, not long after the last election.

Humanitarian Toll and Targeted Attacks

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

A human rights organization reports that from September onward at least several educational institutions and six churches in Chin State have been hit by regime air raids, killing 12 people comprising six children.

Verification shows the shelling of a school in a community on 13 October. Two students lost their lives as they were attending lessons. The bombs ripped through their classrooms injuring more than a dozen other students.

For a second time, a man and his loved ones – a wife and two young children - have been made homeless. Previously in 2021, following the coup, their home was razed in an air strike. They started over in a new community. Now they're homeless again.

"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

A prominent political group, which won overwhelming majorities in the two elections preceding the coup, is banned from running as its key figures are in jail.

"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 elected administration was in power, we experienced a bit of democracy. But now all we do is weep and mourn," says the elderly man.

A resident believes the election will be manipulated. "If we participated for a party opposed to the military, I believe they will steal our votes and claim we voted for them."

The poll will take place in stages, with a result expected around the end of January. Rebel groups have declared it a sham.

Insurgent Battleground and Sacrifices

Within a compound of a key resistance organization operating in the state, a vice chairman states: "This vote is only being held to perpetuate military dictatorship. It's not about the people's choice."

He points out the areas where the heaviest clashes is ongoing. "Units of hundreds of soldiers trying to enter the northern part of Chin state from multiple fronts," he says. "The troops are being backed up by air strikes, artillery fire and by unmanned aerial vehicles."

Visits to such bases is extremely rare. Situated in wooded hills, it is the core of the fight against the junta in Chin state.

Within a clinic at the base, numerous injured fighters had arrived overnight and had to undergo extensive medical procedures. Some of them have had to undergo limb removals.

Many of them were just teenagers when the coup occurred in 2021. Recently come of age, they've let go of their dreams to engage in combat against the junta.

"As the enemy was retreating we ran forward and I triggered a landmine. We were injured in the explosion. Then we were struck from above. The airstrikes make things very challenging for us," says one injured fighter. "I've lost a leg, 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 ongoing operation is evident in room after room at the hospital.

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

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

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