Within Insurgent-Controlled Myanmar, Ordinary People Confront Devastating Bombing Raids and a Fraudulent Poll

Late one night last month, a resident heard blasts in a nearby village, then warplanes soaring above. She dashed from her home to see smoke rising in the distance.

"We were petrified. We believed the regime's jets would bomb us too. So we took what we could carry – provisions and garments and escaped to the forests surrounding our village."

She visibly shakes as she tells the story of what occurred on 26 November in her community, situated in Myanmar's western Chin State. She is one of countless residents who've evacuated their homes in the past few weeks after the Burmese military initiated a relentless assault of aerial attacks, and a ground offensive in resistance territory across the country.

Residents of Chin state have labeled the military's recent operation as the most brutal it has conducted in the past three years. Many of the displaced have found shelter in other parts of the state. Iang belongs to a group that crossed the border into India's Mizoram state. At present residing in a dilapidated badminton court in Vaphai, the group's limited items they were able to carry are contained in sacks.

An elderly man has had to flee his home at the age of 80, staying in makeshift shelters in jungles for days, until at last reaching a secure location.

"We are terrified of our own government. They are incredibly harsh. 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 isn't easy to speak to Burmese civilians openly. 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.

Civilian Toll and Targeted Strikes

In its most recent campaign, the junta last week attacked a clinic in Rakhine State. Insurgent forces in Rakhine say at least 30 people were slain and more than 70 hurt.

A monitoring body reports that from September onward at least multiple schools and several churches in Chin State have been hit by military bombing, causing the death of 12 people among them six children.

Verification shows the destruction of a school in a community on 13 October. Two students perished as they were attending lessons. The bombs devastated their classrooms wounding more than a dozen other students.

For a second time, a father 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 started over in a new community. 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 preserve our lives," he says.

A Questioned Vote

A prominent political group, which won overwhelming majorities in the two elections preceding the coup, will not be contesting as its key figures are in jail.

"We don't want the election. Because the military is incapable of govern our country. They only work for the interest of their senior officers. When the elected administration was in power, we experienced a taste of democracy. But now all we do is weep and mourn," says the elderly man.

Iang Za Kim believes the election will be manipulated. "Should we cast a ballot 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 stages, with a result expected around the end of January. Rebel groups have labeled it a farce.

Insurgent Battleground and Sacrifices

At a base of a key resistance organization operating in the state, a leader states: "This process is only being held to prolong military dictatorship. It's not about the public's voice."

He highlights the areas where the heaviest clashes is continuing. "Units of hundreds of soldiers trying to advance into the northern part of Chin state from multiple fronts," he says. "The infantry are being aided by air strikes, artillery fire and by unmanned aerial vehicles."

Entry to such bases is extremely rare. Set amid thickly forested mountains, it is the heart of the opposition to the junta in Chin state.

Within a clinic at the base, a group of injured fighters were brought in overnight and had to undergo lengthy operations. Some of them have had to undergo limb removals.

A significant number were just teenagers when the coup occurred in 2021. Recently come of age, they've set aside their dreams to serve in the conflict against the junta.

"During the pullback 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," explains a combatant. "Despite my injury, should I lose my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that future generations have a brighter future."

The impact of the brutality of the latest offensive is visible in room after room at the hospital.

However, it's the backing and courage of many thousands of young people who took up weapons that have helped the rebels make notable progress against a far stronger rival.

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

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