First Gulf of Sidra offensive The First Gulf of Sidra offensive was the second major rebel offensive of the Libyan civil war . It was mounted by anti - Gaddafi forces immediately after their victory in the Battle of Ajdabiya . The offensive was meant to have the rebel forces quickly reach Gaddafi ' s hometown of Sirte . The operation was initially a success with the rebels taking almost of coast along the Libyan Coastal Highway in just two days . However , by day three into the rebel advance , loyalist troops stopped their advance and the rebels were forced to retreat back to their starting positions . The Offensive . Rebels capture oil towns and reach western Libya . After loyalist forces lost the battle for Ajdabiya on 26 March , rebels immediately pressed their momentum and took the oil town of Brega without a fight . The next day , 27 March , opposition forces continued their push capturing Ra ' s Lanuf without a shot fired . By the end of the day , the rebels had entered Bin Jawad , east of Sirte , again unopposed . Overall , pro - Gaddafi forces had retreated for over in just two days stopping at prepared defensive positions around Sirte . Skirmishes along the road to Sirte . On 28 March , rebel forces advanced further west toward Sirte and took the town of Nofaliya . After securing Nofaliya , they continued westwards to the village of Harawa . There they tried to negotiate with the tribal leaders for the locals to join their uprising . However , the civilians in the village attacked the rebels with automatic weapons and the opposition was forced to withdraw from Harawa . At the same time , the long rebel column , coming from Bin Jawad , was ambushed a number of times on the highway and loyalists managed to flank the rebels and attack them from the rear . This forced the opposition forces to withdraw back to Nofaliya , from Sirte . Some of them even retreated back to Bin Jawad . Counter - offensive by pro - Gaddafi forces . On 29 March , pro - Gaddafi forces intensified attacks on Libyan rebels , forcing them to retreat from Nofaliya to Bin Jawad , some further east . Later , intense fighting over Bin Jawad was reported , including artillery duels , before the rebels fled in hundreds of vehicles , abandoning the town , towards Ra ' s Lanuf . The opposition ' s military commanders suggested that lack of discipline and stretched supply lines are partly to blame for the retreat . Later during the day , pro - Gaddafi forces advanced to away from Ra ' s Lanuf and began shelling the town with artillery and mortars . On 30 March , loyalist forces recaptured the oil refinery town of Ra ' s Lanuf forcing rebels to retreat further to the east . The coalition then began launching air - strikes against Gaddafi ' s forces around Ra ' s Lanuf and on the road to Uqayla . Reporters on the ground blamed a sandstorm and low visibility from the air for the lack of air - strikes the previous day . Later during the day , rebels were pulling out of Brega to Ajdabiya . In the evening , the BBC News reported that Brega was in control of pro - Gaddafi forces and they were approaching Ajdabiya . A CNN correspondent in Ajdabiya reported that rebels were " massing outside Ajdabiya for a counter - offensive " . During the night , the Coalition attempted an air - strike against loyalist forces . However , they hit an ammunition truck that was near some civilian houses which resulted in the deaths of seven civilians and wounding of 25 . Aftermath . On the morning of 31 March , rebels counter - attacked pro - Gaddafi forces in Brega in an attempt to halt their advance which had reversed nearly all of the previous rebel gains . However , this rebel offensive too was stopped by the better trained and equipped loyalist forces and a stalemate soon developed on the road between Brega and Ajdabiya .