Egypt's prosecutor general on Monday issued arrest warrants and a travel ban against five prominent political activists accused of inciting violence against President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

The move came on the heels of a warning issued by Morsi to take "necessary measures" to protect the nation following clashes outside the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters on Friday.

The prosecutor's office said in a statement that the five have been accused of inciting "aggression against people, the destruction of property and disturbing civil peace" in Friday's street battles.

More than 200 people were injured in the fighting in Cairo and other governorates.

The prosecution also issued summons for a sixth activist, Nawara Negm, daughter of Egypt's best known satirical poet, for questioning concerning the same allegations.

The prosecution decided to interrogate politicians and party members whose statements on the Twitter and Facebook social networks may have incited people to damage public property.

Former parliamentarian Ramadan Bateikh said the move was governed by judicial procedures, which permits the authorities to arrest any person immediately after complaints with evidence are filed against him.

The arrest warrants followed a formal legal complaint filed by the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday against 169 individuals, including leaders of political parties, on accusations of inciting or carrying out Friday's violence.

Bateikh said the president's warning was not targeting the opposition specifically as he said those proved involved in the violence would face legal measures.

"There is no doubt that all forces bear responsibility for violence, because violence is a result of political stalemate," Bateikh said.

Salah Salem, a political science professor at Cairo University, told Xinhua that authorities were not using "political tools to solve the political crisis in Egypt as the political work has been transferred from the political corridors to the court."

He said the arrest warrants were a step to pressurize the opposition.

The presidential warnings, he said, would not force the opposition to retreat. On the contrary, Salem said, any measure against the opposition would boost its public support and break the barrier between the opposition and the wide silent base of ordinary Egyptians.

Salem believed that dialogue was the only solution and predicted that Morsi would take exceptional measures in case dialogue failed in order to strengthen his grip on the country.

Friday's violence has dimmed the prospects of dialogue between Morsi and his Islamist allies and a mostly secular and liberal opposition in a country engulfed by political turmoil for most of the two years since former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster, analysts say.

Morsi, who took office as Egypt's first freely elected president in June, said Sunday that he would never allow more bloodshed.

"If I have to take necessary measures to protect the nation, I will do that, and I am afraid I am close to doing that," Morsi said. "Let us not be dragged into an area where I will take harsh decisions."

He accused his foes of using paid thugs to sow chaos and the media of inciting violence.

The president didn't mention any particular opposition group or politicians on Sunday but his animated remarks were widely seen as being directed at the opposition with the National Salvation Front (NSF) being the main opposition bloc.

The NSF said in response on Sunday that the president, the government, and the Muslim Brotherhood were making "fierce attacks" on the media.

The NSF did not condone violence and called for an investigation of all violence, the party said in a statement.

Only "drastic political solutions and genuine national consensus" would save Egypt from a cycle of violence, the NSF said.