Sudan is currently holding consultations with the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) over the resumption of peace talks with rebel movements in the near future.

The AUHIP is brokering comprehensive peace talks to end the war and achieve democratic reforms. The two-track process comprises the Sudanese government and opposition forces including armed groups in Darfur and the Two Areas, the Sudan Tribune reported.

Sudan’s semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) quoted government spokesperson Bishara Aror as saying the recent AUHIP meetings with the government and the rebel movements comes within the framework of ongoing arrangements to push the peace process forward.

The meetings have been fruitful in regards to building mutual trust around the converging views of the various parties with Khartoum aiming for achieving a comprehensive peace agreement with holdout groups by the end of the year.

According to Aror the government also wants to reach a settlement in the two problematic areas of Darfur and with rebels in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan, also known as the Two Areas, where extended unilateral ceasefires are holding.

Fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-N) in 2011. The army has also been fighting a number of other rebel groups in Darfur since 2003.

However, despite progress in the peace talks between Khartoum and hold-out rebel groups, human rights abuses remain an issue.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that in recent years, government forces have attacked, killed, and raped civilians and looted and destroyed their property in violation of the laws of war, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Nearly one third of Darfur’s population still live in displaced persons camps or as refugees in Chad and elsewhere.

“Across the country, authorities arbitrarily detain political activists and ill-treat and torture them; use unjustified lethal force against anti-government protesters; censor the media; and restrict religious freedoms,” said HRW.

Despite these abuses and the International Criminal Court warrant for the arrest of President Omar Al Bashir for crimes in Darfur, the United States and European Union have renewed support for the Sudanese government citing cooperation in counterterrorism and migration control.