The Egyptian interior ministry instructed police to use live ammunition and deadly force against anyone who attacks government buildings following Thursday's storming and torching of government buildings in Giza, a suburb of Cairo, by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

"The interior ministry has instructed all forces to use live ammunition to counter any attacks on government buildings or forces," the ministry said in a statement.  According to Al Jazeera, protesters have also attacked police stations and other buildings across Egypt in the last 48 hours.

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Egyptian security forces "violently cleared" two seven-week old pro-Morsi sit-in protests on Wednesday, with hundreds being killed in the process.

In all, the Egyptian Health Ministry said that 525 people have been killed in recent violence and protest clearings across Egypt, a sharp increase from yesterday's total of 200.  More than 3,500 have been injured, according to Egyptian officials. The Muslim Brotherhood, however, said that the death toll was "far higher," according to a MB spokesman, who put the number of dead in the "massacre" around 2,000.  

Read more about the ongoing violence in Egypt at Al Jazeera and the Washington Post.

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