The reopening of a prized trade point along the Thai-Burma border will rest on Thailand’s ability to effectively clear border towns of anti-Napyidaw armed groups, Burmese officials have reportedly said.

The remarks were made by Samart Loifah, the governor of Thailand’s western Tak province, during a recent press conference. He told reporters that the Burmese government has been pressuring authorities in the border town of Mae Sot to evict rebels believed to shelter there, and in return Burma would drop its blockade of the Myawaddy-Mae Sot Friendship Bridge, which has been closed for a year.

Read more: Democratic Voice of Burma