UN Security Council to hold Egypt talks

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Egypt following the deaths of more than 500 people there in a security crackdown.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Egypt following a request from France, Britain and Australia, diplomats say.

Thursday's meeting comes a day after a crackdown by Egyptian security forces on protesters backing the deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, which left more than 500 people dead.

France and Britain are permanent members of the Security Council and Australia is one of the 15 countries currently represented.

One diplomat said the joint request had been submitted to Argentina, which currently presides over the council. The diplomat added that a Council statement was not likely.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the crackdown, and UN rights chief Navi Pillay has demanded that a wide-ranging probe be carried out.

Earlier on Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an urgent Security Council meeting.

"This is a very serious massacre... against the Egyptian people who were only protesting peacefully," Erdogan said, criticising "the silence" of the global community in the face of the bloodshed.