[1] He responded to the Presidential order with, "Agree to deploy soldiers to calm the situation, but the army does not shoot the people.

"[3] His popularity increased thereafter, and he has been described as having "real political clout" as a result in the post-revolution era.

[2] Ben Ali then sacked Ammar for not obeying his order and put him under house arrest.

[3][8] On 14 January, Ben Ali fled Tunisia and Ammar was reinstated by Mohamed Ghannouchi.

[10] The Egyptian newspaper Almasry Alyoum reported that the embassy of the United States had told Ammar to take control of Tunisia if the country became politically unstable.