The African Union (AU) says it has started deploying military and human rights observers to Burundi in a bid to avert violence in the Central African country.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the 54-nation bloc said that the AU observers seek to “prevent an escalation of violence in Burundi and to facilitate the completion of efforts to resolve the serious crisis” there.

Military observers will help oversee the “disarmament of militias and other armed groups,” while rights experts will report any human rights violation and international law breach in Burundi, the statement added.

It also went on to say that the pan-African bloc called on “all Burundian parties to put the interest of their country above partisan considerations.”

Meanwhile, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the chairperson of the AU Commission, emphasized that the ongoing conflict in the African state would only be resolved through “dialogue and consensus.”

The development comes as vote counting is currently underway in Burundi a day after the country held a long-delayed presidential election.

The poll was held despite political unrest over incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial bid to stand for a third consecutive five-year term, which opponents have branded as unconstitutional.

A police officer and a civilian were killed in separate incidents in clashes hours before Tuesday’s election, which was monitored by observers from the United Nations and the East African Community (EAC).

Electoral Commission President Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye said approximately 74 percent of Burundi’s 3.8 million registered voters cast their ballots in the presidential poll.

Burundi has been the scene of street protests and a violent police crackdown over the past weeks. The unrest in the landlocked African country has reportedly left at least 100 people dead since April, when Nkurunziza announced his bid for a third term in office.