With a peace treaty still not a day old, the Egyptian army placed concrete blocks and razor wire fences across a key street near Tahrir Square. The good faith gesture prompted protesters to form a human chain --- their own effort to contain the violence.
One of the country's top military leaders also apologized to the public on state television.
Major General Muhammad al-Assar saying:
"I would like to offer our condolences to all the Egyptian people and I would like to offer an apology from the Supreme Military Council for the tragedy that happened, for those who died and the youth that were injured. And we that insist that Egyptian blood is precious to all of us and what happened hurt our hearts like it hurt the heart of all the Egyptian people."
The army has also said that parliamentary elections will proceed as scheduled next week.
The bid to defuse tensions comes after seven days of clashes in Egypt's major cities.
So far, at least 39 people have been killed and more than 2,000 have been injured.
The army said that parliamentary elections next week will proceed as scheduled.
Deborah Gembara, Reuters.