The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat has waded into the death of a black American man, George Floyd at the hands of police in the United States.

The AUC chair issued a statement on the development on Friday voicing their strong condemnation of the violence, rejection of discrimination and intensified the call to action on the part of Washington.

According to him, the US must intensify efforts to eliminate forms of ethnic and racial discrimination. He said the AU rejects ongoing discriminatory practices against black citizens of the US.

George Floyd, 46, died in police custody earlier this week. The incident whipped up the #BlackLivesMatter movement especially after the viral video of a white police officer who was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly said he could not breathe.

A series of violent demonstrations have taken place across the country. President Trump warned that looting will not be countenanced and that the National Guard could be deployed to Minneapolis. The police officer in question has since been arrested and charged.

Over in South Africa, the Economic Freedom Fighters, EFF, also lambasted the US in a statement calling on African countries to call the US government to exercise restraint and to “call on Trump to seize from his genocidal deployment of the military against protesters.”