Egypt's army chief, protesters defiant

Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the head of Egypt's military, vowed Sunday not to tolerate further violence, urging anti-coup protesters to "revise their national position" as they rallied across the country for the fourth straight day against the interim government and for the reinstatement of deposed President Mohamed Morsi.

In his first appearance since security forces began their crackdown on anti-coup protesters, el-Sisi addressed the motives behind ousting Morsi. In an hour-long speech, he said that the Islamist president exploited democracy to monopolize power and that the military's actions "protected Egyptians from civil war," despite the ongoing violence on the streets.

"We will not stand by silently watching the destruction of the country and the people or the torching the nation and terrorizing the citizens," he said in a speech aired on state television.

"I am not threatening anyone," he said. "If the goal is to destroy the country and the people, no!"

El-Sisi also said that Islamists must be included in the country's politics. "There is room for everyone in Egypt," he said, two days after interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi proposed legally dissolving the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi's primary base of support.

As el-Sisi spoke, reports broke of at least 36 prisoners killed while in police custody. State TV reported that the men died during an attempted prison break by armed supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood. But officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the prisoners, who were not all Brotherhood supporters, died because of asphyxiation from tear gas while locked in the back of a police truck.

Authorities have detained 1,000 anti-coup protesters across the country since Wednesday.

Before el-Sisi's address, protesters across the country took to the streets in response to calls by opponents of the government to rally against the country's interim leaders.

Marchers were attempting to converge on the the Supreme Constitutional Court building in Cairo from six locations, including the neighborhoods of Helwan, Giza and Doqqi. However, Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from outside the court complex, said it was surrounded by soldiers, barbed wire and military vehicles.

"People are also gathered — local residents — and they are quite hostile," she said, adding that she had seen at least one checkpoint to search people entering the area.

Another planned march to Roxi Square was canceled earlier Sunday because of security fears amid reports that army snipers had been placed on buildings along the planned route.

The Brotherhood called for new demonstrations after police ended a tense standoff with protesters at Cairo's Fateh Mosque on Saturday.

Nationwide, clashes between security forces and anti-coup protesters, many of whom are supporters of Morsi or members of the Muslim Brotherhood, have left nearly 900 people dead and thousands more injured since Wednesday.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said Sunday that security forces had tried their best to avoid casualties and that otherwise the death toll would have been much higher. He said a fact-finding commission would be established to investigate violence that has engulfed the country since June 30.

"We welcome and are open to the concern and attention given to Egypt by the international community, but Egypt's decisions and will is its own," Fahmi said at a news conference Sunday morning.

International criticism of the bloodshed in Egypt mounted Sunday, with Germany and Qatar jointly condemning the "brutal violence" and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging "maximum restraint" and "de-escalation" at what he called a "dangerous moment" for Egypt.

The European Union said it would review its relations with Egypt following the "extremely worrying" events that have transpired in the country. In a joint statement, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission president José Manuel Barroso said they were "distressed at the loss of lives” in the past few days.

The United States has denounced the recent wave of killings, alarmed by the mayhem in a country that has a strategic peace treaty with Israel and operates the Suez Canal, a major artery of global trade.

President Barack Obama has condemned Egypt's violent crackdown on protesters. He said Thursday that normal cooperation with Cairo could not continue and announced the cancellation of military exercises with Egypt planned for next month.

But the Obama administration has so far resisted calls from U.S. lawmakers to cut Washington's $1.5 billion in aid — mostly military — to Egypt. Stopping the flow of aid might lead to the loss of U.S. leverage with Egypt's military government.

Al Jazeera and wire services