🔗 Share this article In Insurgent-Controlled Burma, Residents Confront Devastating Air Strikes and a Fake Vote A displaced woman escaped from her home following the regime carried out air strikes nearby. Late one night last month, Iang Za Kim listened to detonations in a adjacent village, followed by warplanes circling the area. She hurried outside her home to see smoke rising in the distance. "We were petrified. We believed the regime's jets could strike us too. So we seized our essentials – a bit of food and clothing and ran into the woodlands encircling our village." Her face trembles as she recounts the events of what occurred on 26 November in her community, located in Myanmar's western Chin State. She belongs to countless residents who've evacuated their homes in recent weeks after the Burmese military launched a intensive operation of aerial attacks, coupled with a land assault in insurgent-controlled zones throughout the nation. A great number of people have fled to the neighboring country to flee the conflict in Myanmar. People in Chin state have characterized the military's recent operation as the most brutal it has launched in the past three years. Countless refugees have sought refuge in different areas of the state. Iang belongs to a group that crossed the border into Mizoram in India. Now housed in a decrepit badminton court in Vaphai, the group's meager possessions they were able to carry are stored in sacks. An octogenarian has had to escape his village at the age of 80, residing in makeshift shelters in jungles for days, until at last making it to safety. "We fear our own government. They are extremely cruel. Their military has come into our and other villages in the past, they've detained individuals, mistreated them, and burned down homes," he says. It is difficult to interview Burmese civilians without restriction. Myanmar's regime prohibits open movement in the country for international reporters. It assumed power in the country in a military takeover in February 2021, shortly after the last election. Humanitarian Toll and Deliberate Strikes As part of the newest operation, the junta recently targeted a hospital in a western state. Rebel groups in Rakhine report at least 30 people were slain and more than 70 injured. An advocacy group states that from September onward at least multiple schools and several churches in Chin State have been attacked by junta airstrikes, claiming the lives of 12 people comprising six children. Evidence confirms the bombing of a school in a village on 13 October. Two students were killed as they were attending lessons. The bombs devastated their classrooms injuring more than a dozen other students. A displaced father says the impending elections are a farce. This is the second time, a father and his young family – a wife and two young children - have been uprooted. Previously in 2021, following the coup, their home was burnt down in an air strike. They started over in K-Haimual village. Now they're without a home once more. "It's hard to express 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 Questioned Electoral Process The National League for Democracy party, which won overwhelming majorities in the two elections before 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 benefit of their senior officers. When the civilian leadership was in power, we experienced a bit of democracy. But now all we do is cry and shed tears," says the elderly man. Iang Za Kim believes the election will be manipulated. "If we participated for a party independent from the military, I believe they will falsify the outcome and claim we voted for them." The vote will be held in stages, with a result expected around the end of January. Resistance forces have called it a pretense. Insurgent Frontline and Losses In a headquarters of a leading insurgent force operating in the state, a vice chairman states: "This election is only being held to perpetuate military dictatorship. It's not about the people's choice." He highlights 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 infantry are being backed up by air strikes, artillery fire and by UAVs." A young fighter lost his right leg combating the regime. Access to such bases is highly unusual. Located within wooded hills, it is the heart of the resistance against the junta in Chin state. In a hospital 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 schoolboys when the coup occurred in 2021. Now young adults, they've let go of their dreams to engage in combat against the junta. "During the pullback 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 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 improved existence." The effect of the intensity of the latest offensive is evident in every corner at the hospital. Nevertheless, it's the determination and resolve of many thousands of youths who joined the fight that have helped the rebels make notable progress against a much more powerful rival. Some like 80-year-old Ral Uk Thang hope that after the election, the junta will withdraw, and he will be able to return home. "Yet I believe I will live to see democracy restored in Myanmar," he says. "I wish my children and grandchildren can witness it some day."