Within Resistance-Occupied Myanmar, Civilians Face Devastating Bombing Raids and a Fraudulent Vote

Late one night last month, Iang Za Kim was startled by blasts in a neighbouring village, followed by warplanes flying overhead. She ran out her home to see smoke rising in the distance.

"We were terrified. We believed the junta's planes could strike us too. So we seized our essentials – a bit of food and clothing and fled into the jungles encircling our village."

She visibly shakes as she tells the story of what happened on 26 November in her community, located in Myanmar's western Chin State. She's among numerous people who've fled their homes in recent weeks subsequent to the Burmese military launched a fierce campaign of air strikes, coupled with a land assault in resistance territory throughout the nation.

People in Chin state have described the regime's newest campaign as the most brutal it has conducted in over three years. Countless refugees have sought refuge in other parts of the state. Iang is part of a group that made the border crossing into India's Mizoram state. Currently sheltered in a decrepit badminton court in Vaphai village, the group's meager possessions they were able to carry are contained in polyethylene bags.

An octogenarian has had to escape his village at the age of 80, residing in makeshift shelters in jungles for days, before finally finding refuge.

"We're afraid of our own government. They are exceptionally brutal. Their military has entered our and other villages in the past, they've arrested people, mistreated them, and set houses ablaze," he says.

It isn't easy to converse with Burmese civilians freely. Myanmar's regime does not allow unfettered entry in the country for foreign journalists. It seized control of the country in a military takeover in February 2021, soon after the last election.

Civilian Toll and Targeted Attacks

During its latest offensive, the junta last week targeted a hospital in Rakhine. Resistance organizations in Rakhine report at least 30 people were lost their lives and more than 70 injured.

An advocacy group reports that since mid-September at least three schools and a number of places of worship in Chin State have been attacked by regime air raids, claiming the lives of 12 people among them six children.

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

Once again, a man and his small family – a wife and two young children - have been displaced. Previously in 2021, following the coup, their home was razed in an air strike. They reconstructed their existence in another village. Now they're without a home once more.

"I can't find the words to explain how agonizing and challenging it is and what a heart-wrenching call it was to make to leave. But we had to do it to stay alive," he says.

A Questioned Vote

The National League for Democracy party, which won landslides in the two elections prior to the coup, will not be contesting as the majority of its leadership are imprisoned.

"We reject this election. Because the military does not know how to govern our country. They only work for the interest of their high-ranking leaders. When the elected administration was in power, we experienced a measure of democracy. But now all we do is weep and mourn," says the elderly man.

Iang Za Kim believes the election will be rigged. "If we voted for a party opposed to the military, I believe they will falsify the outcome and claim we voted for them."

The election will take place in phases, with a result projected around the end of January. Insurgent organizations have labeled it a pretense.

Insurgent Battleground and Sacrifices

Within a compound of a key resistance organization operating in the state, a senior official states: "This vote is only being held to perpetuate military dictatorship. It's not about the public's voice."

He highlights the areas where the most intense fighting is continuing. "There are columns of hundreds of soldiers trying to push into the northern part of Chin state from four directions," he says. "The soldiers are being backed up by air strikes, artillery fire and by unmanned aerial vehicles."

Entry to such bases is extremely rare. Set amid dense jungle highlands, it is the heart of the opposition to the junta in Chin state.

At a medical facility at the base, several injured fighters had arrived overnight and had to undergo lengthy operations. Some of them have had to undergo limb removals.

Many of them were just teenagers when the coup occurred in 2021. Now young adults, 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 struck from above. The airstrikes make things very hard for us," states a wounded rebel. "I've lost a leg, should I lose my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that coming generations have a better life."

The consequence of the intensity of the latest offensive is evident in room after room at the hospital.

However, it's the determination and resolve of countless numbers of youths who picked up arms that have helped the rebels make significant gains against a better-equipped rival.

Some like 80-year-old the man hope that after the election, the junta will withdraw, and he will be able to return home.

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