The African Union is still urging a transfer of power from the army to a transitional government in Burkina Faso, but is no longer threatening the country with sanctions if the handover is not done within two weeks, Radio France Internationale and local media reported on Tuesday.

During a visit to Ouagadougou on Monday, AU president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said he had not come to "threaten" or "impose" anything.

"We are there to accompany our Burkinabe brothers so that they themselves find a solution" after the ouster of president Blaise Compaore on October 31, RFI quoted Abdel Aziz as saying.

The AU had previously threatened the West African country with sanctions unless military leader Isaac Zida handed over power to civilians within two weeks, after massive protests forced Compaore to flee to Ivory Coast.

Zida downplayed the deadline and said it was more important to reach a consensus on how to organize the transitional period leading up to elections in November next year.

AU envoy to Burkina Faso, Edem Kodjo, said there would be no "immediate" sanctions and that the country would be given time to organize the transition, Burkina24 website reported.

Talks about the transition were ongoing. Opposition parties and civil society groups on Monday handed the army their proposal for a transitional charter.

The charter says the transitional president must be a civilian and that the government must have a civilian majority, interpreted as meaning it will also include members of the army.

The army has repeatedly said it does not want to hold on to power.

Compaore's critics accused him of having monopolized economic power during his 27-year rule.