The fighting which erupted on Saturday between the Bani Hilal tribesmen and Nubian villagers in the southern province of Aswan was still continuing and the death toll was expected to rise, the officials said.
The rival sides attended a reconciliation meeting aimed at ending long-standing disputes on Thursday. However, an argument broke out and turned into a firefight that killed three tribesmen, the security officials said.
Tribal vendettas are common in the rural and poor south, but this week's violence is the worst in recent memory, they said.
Police began to reassert themselves across the country only recently, after a breakdown in law and order.
RA/MB