Cairo , Egypt ( CNN ) -- Opposition activists formed a human chain outside one of the entrances to Tahrir Square on Saturday afternoon to prevent two Egyptian military tanks from crossing through barricades into what has effectively become an anti-Mubarak enclave in the heart of the Egyptian capital . An eyewitness said scuffles broke out after an army general asked demonstrators to take down their makeshift barricades of corrugated steel and debris , which were built up during 48 hours of bloody fighting with regime supporters next to Cairo 's landmark Egyptian Museum . `` This general went through the barricades , they [ the soldiers ] knocked down some barricades on the way to the museum , which caused some panic and scuffling , '' said photographer Ron Haviv . `` When he did it all chaos broke loose . '' Haviv said that initial tension was defused after Gen. Hassan Al Roweni began negotiating with medics who have established a first aid station for wounded combatants just behind the first line of barriers . `` He is still talking to doctors at the clinic , '' Haviv said . `` He is asking them to remove the clinic . '' Later , Roweni made a tour of Tahrir . Military guards in red berets struggled to hold back the enthusiastic crowd as many Egyptians tried to embrace and kiss the general amid chants of `` The military and the people are one hand . '' Over the past week , Tahrir Square has been transformed from a bustling urban center into a fortified campground inhabited by thousands of well-organized anti-Mubarak demonstrators . It includes sidewalk first aid clinics and stations for charging cell phones , and the protesters respond to threats by blowing whistles and clanging metal rods . The alarm prompts scores of men to race to the entrances to the square , where rocks for stone-throwing are stockpiled in preparation for possible battles . Eyewitnesses said Roweni 's visit appeared aimed at trying to persuade demonstrators to reopen the square to ordinary traffic . The officer took to the stage erected at the north end of the square for several minutes and made an unsuccessful attempt to appeal to the demonstrators . `` You can all express your views and opinions freely , but I ask you to put the security of Egypt first , '' Roweni announced through a loudspeaker system . `` This is directed to the youth of January 25th , '' he added , referring to the date when protests first erupted , throwing Egypt into what many observers now call a political revolution . `` There are many people who are manipulating you , '' Roweni said . The crowd chanted a simple answer : `` No , no , no . '' The general concluded his short statement by saying , `` I do n't understand what it is you want . '' The crowd roared back a chant that has been repeated for days across the open expanses of Tahrir Square : `` Leave , leave , leave . He leaves , we leave . '' This call for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to resign is the demand that unites the grass-roots movement in Tahrir . After hearing the answer from the crowd , Roweni left the stage and the square without saying another word .
NEW : Apparent military effort to reopen Tahrir Square is rebuffed . The Egyptian army has been trying for days to regain control of the square, which was cleared by protesters on January 25 after nearly three weeks in a state of siege. When Mubarak leaves , they will leave , the protesters say . The Tahrir Square protesters form a human chain to block tanks from entering . Scuffles broke out when soldiers knocked down some barricades , a witness says .