Across Rebel-Held Myanmar, Ordinary People Endure Ruinous Aerial Bombardments and a Sham Poll

During the evening last month, Iang Za Kim was startled by detonations in a nearby village, followed by military aircraft flying overhead. She dashed from her home to see plumes of smoke far away.

"We were terrified. We thought the regime's jets would bomb us too. So we seized our essentials – a bit of food and clothing and fled into the woodlands around our village."

She visibly shakes as she tells the story of what occurred on 26 November in her community, located in Myanmar's western Chin area. She belongs to countless residents who've abandoned their homes in recent weeks following the Myanmar army began a fierce campaign of air strikes, coupled with a land assault in insurgent-controlled zones nationwide.

Residents of Chin state have labeled the military's recent operation as the fiercest it has launched in more than three years. Many of the displaced have sought refuge in other regions of the state. Iang belongs to a group that made the border crossing into Mizoram in India. Currently sheltered in a rundown badminton court in Vaphai, the group's meager possessions they were able to carry are contained in plastic sacks.

An octogenarian has had to abandon his residence at the age of 80, staying in makeshift shelters in forests for days, before finally reaching a secure location.

"We fear our own government. They are extremely cruel. Their military has entered our and other villages in the past, they've arrested people, abused them, and burned down homes," he says.

It is challenging to interview Burmese civilians without restriction. Myanmar's military government prohibits free access in the country for international reporters. It assumed power in the country in a military takeover in February 2021, shortly after the last election.

Civilian Toll and Deliberate Attacks

As part of the newest operation, the junta last week targeted a medical facility in Rakhine State. Rebel groups in Rakhine say at least 30 people were slain and more than 70 injured.

A human rights organization says that since mid-September at least multiple schools and six churches in Chin State have been hit by regime air raids, killing 12 people among them six children.

Evidence confirms the destruction of a school in a village on 13 October. Two students were killed as they were in class. The bombs ripped through their classrooms injuring more than a dozen other students.

For a second time, Bawi Nei Lian and his loved ones – a wife and two young children - have been displaced. In 2021, soon after the coup, their home was destroyed by fire in an air strike. They started over in K-Haimual village. Now they're displaced a second time.

"I can't find the words to explain how difficult and traumatic 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 Election

A prominent political group, which won landslides in the two elections prior to the coup, will not be contesting as the majority of its leadership are detained.

"We don't want the election. Because the military does not know how to govern our country. They only work for the benefit of their senior officers. When the civilian leadership was in power, we experienced a taste of democracy. But now all we do is grieve and lament," says the elderly man.

A resident believes the election will be fixed. "If we voted for a party independent from 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. Rebel groups have labeled it a sham.

Insurgent Battleground and Sacrifices

Within a compound of a leading insurgent force operating in the state, a leader states: "This election is only being held to extend military dictatorship. It's not about the people's choice."

He indicates the areas where the heaviest clashes is ongoing. "Units of hundreds of soldiers trying to enter the northern part of Chin state from several axes," he says. "The troops are being supported by air strikes, artillery fire and by UAVs."

Visits to such bases is highly unusual. Located within thickly forested mountains, it is the core of the resistance against the junta in Chin state.

Within a clinic at the base, a group of injured fighters had arrived overnight and had to undergo lengthy operations. Some of them have had to undergo surgeries.

Many of them were just teenagers when the coup occurred in 2021. Now young adults, they've let go of their dreams to fight on the frontline against the junta.

"While opposing forces withdrew 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 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 coming generations have a brighter future."

The consequence of the brutality of the recent campaign is evident in ward after ward at the hospital.

However, it's the support and grit of countless numbers of young people who picked up arms that have helped the rebels make significant gains against a far stronger rival.

People including 80-year-old the elderly refugee hope that after the election, the junta will pull back, 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 experience it some day."