EU's Ashton Headed to Cairo

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton headed to Egypt on Sunday, as the country's political crisis deepened with a deadlock between the interim government and supporters of the ousted president.

Ashton's visit, confirmed by Egypt's vice presidency, comes a day after 72 people were killed at a protest in support of deposed Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi.

The bloodshed prompted defiance from Morsi's supporters, who pledged to continue their protests calling for his reinstatement.

The presidency said it was "saddened" by the deaths, but that they came in a "context of terrorism".

Sporadic violence continued throughout the country on Sunday, with two killed in separate clashes, a security source said.

Ten gunmen were also killed during an operation by security forces in the Sinai Peninsula, the official MENA news agency said.

Egypt's vice presidency said Ashton would meet with interim president Adly Mansour and vice president for international relations Mohammed ElBaradei.

MENA said she would also hold talks with members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and the Tamarod group that organised the protests that preceded his ouster.

The visit comes amid polarization in Egypt, with Morsi supporters accusing security forces of firing on unarmed civilians and the presidency denouncing "terrorism".

"We are saddened by the spilling of blood on the 27th," Mansour adviser Moustafa Hegazy told reporters.

But he dubbed the protest area where the deaths occurred a "terror originating spot" and said "we cannot decouple this from context of terrorism".

Interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim also warned his forces would "not allow any mercenary or person bearing a grudge to try to disrupt the atmosphere of unity".

"We will confront them with the greatest of force and firmness," he said.

Morsi loyalists, still camped out at the scene of Saturday's violence, were equally defiant.

"There are feelings of agony and anger, but also a very strong feeling of determination," Brotherhood spokesman Gehad el-Haddad told Agence France Presse.

"For us, if we die, we meet our creator and we did so for a just cause... Either we die or we succeed."

Saturday's violence, which came after a night of rival protests for and against Morsi, was the bloodiest incident since Morsi's July 3 ouster following huge demonstrations against his rule.

Sporadic violence continued early on Sunday, with a security source reporting two people killed in clashes between Morsi supporters and opponents in Port Said and northern Kafr El-Zayat.

Both clashes came at the funerals of Morsi supporters killed in Cairo.

Morsi supporters said Saturday's bloodshed was the result of security forces using live fire on unarmed protesters, but the interior ministry insisted only tear gas was used.

Ibrahim warned pro-Morsi demonstrations would be dispersed "in a legal fashion" and "as soon as possible," urging protesters to "come to their senses" and go home.

The violence was widely condemned, with Human Rights Watch accusing the authorities of "criminal disregard for people's lives".

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, whose country contributes hundreds of millions of dollars in military and economic aid to Egypt, called on the authorities to "respect the right of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression".

U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said her government should "relook at granting aid" to Egypt.

The violence also prompted domestic criticism, with ElBaradei, a former opposition activist, denouncing "excessive use of force" by the authorities.

The head of the Cairo-based Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, called for an urgent investigation.

The National Salvation Front coalition of leftist and liberal groups said the Brotherhood bore some of the blame for its "provocative approach".

The deaths followed a call from Sisi for a mass show of support for a crackdown on "terrorism".

Hundreds of thousands obliged, demonstrating their continued support for Morsi's ouster.

The Islamist is being held in custody accused of "premeditated murder" over his escape from prison during Egypt's 2011 uprising.

With tensions running high, the prospects for a political resolution to the crisis appeared dim.

Egypt "is structured with two political forces, the Muslim Brotherhood and the army," said Jean-Yves Moisseron, a Middle East expert at France's Institute for Research and Development.

Liberals "did not seize the historic opportunity they had in 2011 to structure themselves in an autonomous way, (and as a result) the historic conditions for a democratic transition in Egypt are far from materializing."