Rachid Ammar, or Rchid Ammar ( ar, رشيد عمار) (born 1947 or 1948) was the chief of staff of the

Tunisian Armed Forces The Tunisian Armed Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة التونسية) consist of the Tunisian Army, Tunisian Air Force, Air Force and Navy. As of 2019, Tunisia had armed forces with more than 150,000 active-duty personnel, of which 80,0 ...

. He is perhaps best known for his refusal to fire on protestors during the

2011 Tunisian Revolution The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...

. He has been described as "the first post-2011 icon in Tunisia."

Biography

Born in either 1947 or 1948, Ammar is from Sayada, a small town on the coast of

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

.Alt URL
/ref> Ammar was promoted to chief of staff from the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

when the previous chief of staff, Abdelaziz Skik, was killed in a 2002 helicopter crash, considered mysterious by several soldiers and journalists who have also held Ben Ali's government responsible. The same helicopter crash also killed five colonels, four majors, and two lieutenants, and one casualty was the Military Security Service leader colonel El Arbi Ghazali. Ammar was a member of the joint chiefs of staff and was received along with other members of the council by Ali at a ceremony during the summer of 2010. There, Ammar was promoted by Ben Ali from the rank of divisional general to that of corps general. On 25 June 2013, Ammar announced his retirement due to harsh criticisms.

Tunisian revolution

On 13 January 2011, Ammar refused to follow the orders of

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ( ar, زين العابدين بن علي, translit=Zayn al-'Ābidīn bin 'Alī; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali ( ar, بن علي) or Ezzine ( ar, الزين), was a Tunisian politician ...

, then president of Tunisia, to shoot protesters participating in the

2010–2011 Tunisian protests The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...

. He responded to the Presidential order with, "Agree to deploy soldiers to calm the situation, but the army does not shoot the people." His popularity increased thereafter, and he has been described as having "real political clout" as a result in the post-revolution era. Ben Ali then sacked Ammar for not obeying his order and put him under house arrest. On 14 January, Ben Ali fled Tunisia and Ammar was reinstated by

Mohamed Ghannouchi Mohamed Ghannouchi ( ar, محمد الغنوشي ''Muhammad Al-Ghannushi''; born 18 August 1941) is a Tunisian politician who was Prime Minister of Tunisia from 1999 to 2011. Regarded as a technocrat, Ghannouchi was a long-standing figure in the ...

. On 15 January, ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' reported that the Tunisian military was being led by Ammar. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported there was speculation that Ammar would take over the country and become president. The Egyptian newspaper ''

Almasry Alyoum ''Al-Masry Al-Youm'' ( ar, المصري اليوم ', , meaning ''The Egyptian Today'') is an Egyptian privately owned Daily paper, daily newspaper that was first published in June 2004. It is published in Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic as is it ...

'' reported that the embassy of the United States had told Ammar to take control of Tunisia if the country became politically unstable.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ammar, Rachid Living people Tunisian generals Tunisian military personnel People from Sayada Year of birth uncertain