Egyptian police are clashing with anti-government protesters for a fifth day in Cairo as a rights group raises the overall death toll from the current unrest to 38.

Tens of thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square demand that Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi should step down immediately in favor of an interim civilian council.

The November 23 street battles centered around the heavily fortified Interior Ministry, near the iconic square.

An Egyptian rights group known for its careful research of victims of police violence says the number of protesters killed in clashes nationwide since the weekend is 38, nine more than the Health Ministry's death toll, The Associated Press reported.