US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on the Egyptian government Friday to "immediately engage" in dialogue to address the "deep grievances" of its people, dpa reported.
"As a partner, we strongly believe that the Egyptian government needs to engage immediately with the Egyptian people in implementing needed economic, political and social reforms," Clinton said in remarks at the State Department as mass protests in Egypt grew increasingly violent on Friday.
"Violence will not make these grievances go away," Clinton added.
Clinton said the United States was "deeply concerned" by the Egyptian authorities' use of violence against the protesters and called on the government to restore access to the internet.
"We continue to monitor the situation very closely. We are deeply concerned about the use of violence by Egyptian police and security forces against protesters," she said. "And we call on the government to do everything in its power to restrain security forces."
Clinton also urged protesters to "refrain from violence and express themselves peacefully."
"We urge the Egyptian authorities to allow peaceful protests and to reverse the unprecedented step it has taken to cut off communications," she said.