The African Union will send a 5,000 strong force to stop violence in troubled Burundi, giving Bujumbura a four-day deadline to agree, 54-member bloc said in a statement.

The AU force "shall have an initial strength of up to 5,000 military personnel and police," the AU's Peace and Security Council (PSC) said in a statement late Friday, warning of its "determination to take all appropriate measures against any party or actor, whomsoever, who would impede the implementation of the present decision."