🔗 Share this article In Resistance-Occupied Burma, Residents Confront Devastating Bombing Raids and a Fraudulent Vote Iang Za Kim was forced to abandon her home in the wake of the junta carried out air strikes nearby. During the evening last month, a woman was startled by blasts in a nearby village, then fighter jets circling the area. She dashed from her home to see plumes of smoke from a distance. "We were horrified. We thought the regime's jets might attack us too. So we seized our essentials – provisions and garments and fled into the forests around our village." Iang's face quivers as she tells the account of what happened on 26 November in her community, found in Myanmar's western Chin area. She belongs to numerous people who've evacuated their homes in the last month subsequent to the Myanmar army began a fierce campaign of bombing runs, alongside infantry advances in resistance territory nationwide. Many civilians have crossed into the neighboring country to escape the conflict in Burma. People in Chin state have characterized the regime's newest campaign as the most intense it has conducted in the past three years. Countless refugees have found shelter in different areas of the state. Iang is part of a group that made the border crossing into Mizoram in India. Currently sheltered in a decrepit badminton court in a village, the group's meager possessions they were able to carry are contained in polyethylene bags. Ral Uk Thang has had to flee his home at the age of 80, staying in temporary huts in the wilderness for days, prior to eventually reaching a secure location. "We are terrified 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 is difficult to interview Burmese civilians freely. Myanmar's military government does not allow open movement in the country for foreign journalists. It seized control of the country in a putsch in February 2021, not long after the last election. Civilian Toll and Targeted Attacks As part of the newest operation, the junta in the past week struck a clinic in Rakhine. Insurgent forces in Rakhine claim at least 30 people were killed and more than 70 hurt. An advocacy group says that over recent months at least three schools and a number of places of worship in Chin State have been hit by junta airstrikes, claiming the lives of 12 people comprising six children. Reports indicate the shelling of a school in Vanha village on 13 October. Two students lost their lives as they were in class. The bombs ripped through their classrooms injuring more than a dozen other students. A displaced father says the impending elections are a sham. This is the second time, a father and his loved ones – a wife and two young children - have been made homeless. Previously in 2021, shortly after the coup, their home was burnt down in an air strike. They started over in K-Haimual village. Now they're homeless again. "Words fail me to explain how difficult and traumatic it is and what a tough choice it was to make to leave. But we had to do it to survive," he says. A Questioned Vote A prominent political group, which won overwhelming majorities in the two elections prior to the coup, will not be contesting as most of its senior leaders are in jail. "This vote is unwanted. Because the military lacks the ability to govern our country. They only work for the benefit of their top officials. When the elected administration 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 rigged. "If we participated for a party not allied with the military, I believe they will steal our votes and claim we voted for them." The vote will occur in phases, with a result anticipated around the end of January. Resistance forces have declared it a farce. Insurgent Frontline and Sacrifices At a base of a key resistance organization operating in the state, a leader states: "This election is only being held to perpetuate military dictatorship. It's not about the public's voice." He points out the areas where the fiercest combat is ongoing. "Units of hundreds of soldiers trying to enter the northern part of Chin state from four directions," he says. "The soldiers are being aided by air strikes, artillery fire and by drone units." A resistance member was severely wounded combating the junta. Visits to such bases is extremely rare. Situated in wooded hills, it is the core of the opposition to the junta in Chin state. At a medical facility at the base, numerous injured fighters were brought in overnight and had to undergo extensive medical procedures. Some of them have had to undergo amputations. A significant number were just schoolboys when the coup occurred in 2021. Now young adults, they've abandoned their dreams to fight on the frontline 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 targeted by aircraft. The airstrikes make things very hard for us," explains a combatant. "I've lost a leg, if I must sacrifice 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 every corner at the hospital. Nevertheless, it's the determination and resolve of tens of thousands of young people who took up weapons that have helped the rebels make significant gains against a better-equipped rival. Some like 80-year-old the man hope that post-poll, the junta will pull back, and he will be able to return home. "However, I doubt I will live to see democracy reestablished in Myanmar," he says. "I wish my children and grandchildren can witness it some day."