Egypt's Prime Minister Hazem Beblawy was given the power to grant the miliary the right to arrest civilians on Sunday, as violence prompted by the ousting of president Mohammed Morsi continued unabate, dpa reported.
The move was made possible by presidential decree. It could be a prelude to a declaration of a state of emergency in the country that has seen clashes between Morsi opponents and backers since he was army ousted by the army on July 3 after millions called for his resignation.
However, presidential spokesman Ahmed al-Meslemani told al-Ahram newspaper that there were no plans to impose a state of emergency in Egypt.
In December, Morsi temporarily granted the military the authority to arrest civilians to help secure a referendum on the Islamist-drafted constitution that was passed.
The state of emergency was imposed in Egypt for almost 30 years, under the rule of Hosny Mubarak who was ousted in the January 2011 uprising.
Beblawy can also now cancel any verdict, except in a murder case, that is handed down by the Emergency State Security Court.
At least one person was killed and at least 40 injured Sunday in the ongoing clashes in Egypt between backers and opponents of Morsi.
The man was killed in Port Said city on the Suez Canal and 28 were injured in fighting involving fire and petrol bombs, the Health Ministry said.
The clashes erupted after the funeral of a Muslim Brotherhood supporter, one of dozens killed in clashes with security forces in Cairo on Saturday.
Witnesses said at least 20 people were injured in street battles in Helwan in southern Cairo, where scores of shops and cars were damaged.
Morsi was ousted by the army on July 3, in what his Muslim Brotherhood group and allied Islamists say was a coup, after millions called for his resignation and early presidential elections.
The army and its supporters accuse the Brotherhood and Morsi of inciting violence in Egypt. The Brotherhood has vowed to continue protesting until Morsi is restored to power.
The deposed leader is facing charges of conspiring with Hamas to perpetrate "hostile acts" during the uprising against his predecessor Hosny Mubarak in 2011. He is being held at an undisclosed location.
The army allowed two human rights lawyers to visit Morsi, who they said is held in a military-affiliated building. They said Morsi refused to meet but one of his aides did so.
Authorities have put the death toll in the latest round of clashes at 73, with nearly 200 since Morsi was ousted.
However the Brotherhood said that least 200 people have been killed in Cairo since Friday alone, in what it called a "massacre" by the army and police against its followers.
United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay has condemned the violence.
"Despite all the warnings, all the calls for restraint, more than 150 Egyptians have died during protests over the past month, not just in Cairo but in other cities as well," Pillay said.
"I fear for the future of Egypt if the military and other security forces, as well as some demonstrators, continue to take such a confrontational and aggressive approach."
On July 8, at least 51 people, mainly Brotherhood supporters, were killed in clashes with army forces troops in Cairo. The army said its troops had acted in self-defence.
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Aston was expected to arrive in Cairo on Sunday for talks with government officials.