Amnesty International on Tuesday called for Egypt’s military to immediately end its deadly response to protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square and in Alexandria.

The battle between protesters and military officials has killed some two dozen people and injured hundreds since violence erupted on Saturday.

While security forces were thought to have been firing buckshots and rubber bullets, bodies in a Cairo morgue reportedly revealed wounds from live ammunition, including shot gun wounds.

"This bloodshed over the weekend is utterly unacceptable. The violence yet again calls into question the orders given to security forces," said Philip Luther, acting director for the Middle East and North Africa program at Amnesty International. "We hold the SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) responsible for the lives and the safety of demonstrators and voters in next week's elections."

After riot police forcibly broke up a sit-in organized by a group of people injured in January’s Egypt uprising, protesters gathered in Tahrir Square over the weekend.

In their attempt to regain control of Tahrir Square and surrounding streets, “security forces beat protesters with sticks and used tear gas recklessly to disperse the crowds,” the activist group said.

Clashes have involved stone throwing, beatings, and Molotov cocktails.

"The violent policing seen over the weekend is reminiscent of the repression during the 'January 25 revolution' and security forces relied on the same old patterns of abuse as under the three decades of (former President) Mubarak's rule," said Luther. "While the Egyptian authorities have a duty to maintain law and order, they must not use excessive force to crack down on peaceful protests, something that poses a severe threat to Egyptians' rights to assembly and freedom of expression."