United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has warned Egypt's interim leadership that every death that occurs in demonstrations makes it harder to drag the country out of its current political crisis.
Mr Ban has raised his concerns after at least 72 people were killed in a demonstration in Cairo over the weekend, held in support of deposed President Mohamed Morsi who was ousted from power earlier this month.
Close to 300 people have died in violence since Mr Morsi was deposed.
Michael Kenny reports.
Supporters of Mohamed Morsi have vowed to carry on their protests in Cairo and have accused security forces of using live fire against unarmed protesters.
Egypt's interior ministry insists its forces only fired tear gas and has called on protesters to disperse from the region.
The violence has prompted international condemnation, with United States Secretary of State John Kerry expressing deep concern at the use of extreme force against protesters.
Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad says the protesters will not be intimidated.
"We're peaceful - we don't carry any weapons. The only thing we carry are our slogans and our shouts of protest. And that's the only thing we do. You don't respond to that with live bullets under any law in the world. Even human-wise, you don't kill protesters and literally snipe at them like falling leaves."
Amid the ongoing demonstrations, the National Defence Council has warned it would take firm and decisive action against the protesters.
Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim has warned Egypt's security forces would not allow any person bearing a grudge over the ousting of President Morsi to undermine national unity.
The country's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy has told Reuters he believes a tough response is needed to put an end to the violent demonstrations.
"The Minister of Defence spoke a few days ago because he was concerned about heightened security risks. That's why he came out and spoke and that again left the impression that the army is playing a role. They are playing a role in ensuring the safety and security of the people and the state because we're going through exceptional circumstances where we have a civilian interim President and a Vice President as well as a civilian government."
Mr Fahmy says he believes Egypt needs to learn important lessons from what has happened over recent months before it can move forward.
"The problems that emerged against the former President Morsi from a very large percentage of the public was because he wanted to move forward without non-(Muslim)-Brotherhood members. So it was the exclusion of others that led this momentum for the huge demonstrations that occurred before the 30th June. So I would recommend that as we move forward we do not exclude anyone who is ready to work according to the constitution in a peaceful fashion."
Mr Fahmy's comments come as the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, visits Egypt for talks with interim President (mr) Adly (ud-lee) Mansour and other officials.
Ms Ashton has similarly called for an inclusive transition process taking in all political groups including the Muslim Brotherhood.
But some of the protesters rallying in support of Mohamed Morsi have accused the Egyptian government of hypocrisy in its treatment of the demonstrators.
One of the protesters in Cairo, Mahmoud Shakir, believes the government should be held more accountable for their actions.
(translation) "But where is this law the Ministry of Interior want to clear this protest with, after they upheld the constitution and the law and overthrew a legitimately elected president by the people? And this is democracy and the democratic process which follows the ballot box? Which law will they clear the protest by? The law they used against the Republican Guard? Or the one they used last night? We want to understand." (ends in Arabic)
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