The African Union has agreed to send troops to stop violence in Burundi, a senior official said Friday, after a meeting where the 54-member bloc warned they would not allow "another genocide" to take place.

The AU's "Peace and Security Council took a decision yesterday to send troops to protect civilians," senior AU official Bonaventure Cakpo Guebegde told AFP. "These troops will be under the banner of the East African Standby force."

No decision has been made on the potential size of any force, which would require the agreement of Burundi or a vote by AU presidents before any deployment is approved. Burundi has so far dismissed proposals for any peacekeeping force.