Following the reopening of the Asia Highway 1 (AH1) section linking Myawaddy and Kawkareik towns in Karen State, junta troops stationed along the route are demanding extortion-style tolls from passing vehicles. The junta reopened the AH1 section—a vital route for Thai–Myanmar border trade—on April 2 after it had been closed for about two years due to heavy fighting, allowing hundreds of vehicles to travel the road again that day.