On April 8, loyalist forces attempted to recapture the city. Taking advantage of a disorganised rebel retreat following the Third Battle of Brega, loyalist troops entered the city and had taken control of most of it by April 9. However, rebel forces soon regrouped and had pushed pro-Gaddafi forces out of the city by April 11, with heavy support from NATO airstrikes. The front line then stagnated outside of the city, 40 km down the road to Brega. Loyalist shells continued to intermittently strike the western gate and outskirts of the city for several days. In April 2011, the citizens of Ajdabiya decided to rename the city's principal square as "Tim Hetherington Square", in honour of the British photojournalist killed in Misrata.