Security forces have surrounded a Cairo mosque full of Islamist protesters after a day of clashes that left more than 80 dead.
Supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi have pledged to stage daily demonstrations prompting fears of more violence and nationwide bloodshed.
It follows the deaths of almost 600 people on Wednesday when police cleared two camps set up by Morsi loyalists in Cairo.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
The siege of the Al-Fath mosque in the Ramsis area has come after what protestors called a 'day of anger.'
Muslim Brotherhood Member Abdul Aziz Gedo says the protestors are being persecuted.
"The country's security forces are engaging in the same behaviour that the former Mubarak regime did. Burning churches and blaming it on the Brotherhood," Mr Gedo says.
"And if the Brotherhood had weapons in their hands they would have defended themselves. But instead many of us are being killed."
The interior ministry, which authorised police to use live fire if government buildings came under attack, says it is responding to what it calls a 'terrorist plot.'
EGYPTIANS SEEK SAFE HAVEN IN AUSTRALIA
Meanwhile, it is an anxious time for Egyptians in Australia as they wait to hear from loved ones in their trouble-plagued homeland.
Some Egyptians in Cairo have already fled to Australia to escape the recent surge in violence.
PROFILE: WHO IS GENERAL AL-SISI?
As the death toll from street protests rises, the spotlight has now turned on General al-Sisi, drawing into question not only his motives but his loyalties.
Last month, backed by enormous public support General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi deposed Mohamed Morsi and restored secular rule in Egypt.
His opponents in the Muslim Brotherhood say it came at the price of democracy and their occupation of the streets has now led to massive bloodshed.
"When the mass protests came in to try and oust Morsi, and the Egyptian military stepped in, i don't think they really thought this through," says Adam Lockyer, a lecturer in foreign policy at the University of Sydney's US Studies Centre.
"They didn't think what was going to happen the day after they ousted Morsi, they just stepped in and they've found themselves in this situation, without really a strategic goal in mind."
