EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton headed to Egypt today, 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 Mohamed 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 Mohamed 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 polarisation 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 AFP.
"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 today, 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.
