Third Battle of Brega The Third Battle of Brega was a battle during the Libyan Civil War between government forces and anti - Gaddafi forces for control of the town of Brega and its surroundings . Background . After previously advancing rapidly along the coast of the Gulf of Sidra in a previous offensive , the rebels were quickly pushed back . They had initially advanced from Ajdabiya to just from Gaddafi ' s hometown of Sirte . However , they were rolled back in a government counter - offensive and by 30 March , were back to their starting positions at Ajdabiya with Brega being retaken by the loyalists that night . The Battle . 31 March – In the morning , rebels counter - attacked Brega in an attempt to push out government forces . The first attack lasted only five minutes before the rebels were in a new retreat following a heavy artillery attack on their positions . By late afternoon , coalition forces had bombed the Libyan army near Brega . Trying to use the air - cover provided by the coalition , the rebels attempted a new attack and managed to break into Brega . Street fighting started with gun battles between government forces and rebels throughout the town . By the end of the day , after heavy fighting , government forces had repelled the rebel counter - attack and were in control of Brega . 1 April – The rebels moved more experienced fighters and heavier weapons to the frontline , though the fighting force was still significantly under - armed and undertrained . In the evening , a coalition air - strike hit a rebel convoy advancing on Brega from Ajdabiya , killing 14 fighters . Also , the loyalist troops successfully ambushed rebels who entered Brega ' s university complex , where a large number of loyalists were positioned , and the rebels withdrew having lost several men . 2 April – In the early morning , rebels managed to break through the eastern gate of the city . They took control of most of the city before loyalist artillery hit them . By mid - afternoon rebels had retreated from the town and were regrouping at a checkpoint to the east . Later on , the rebels managed once again to enter the town . However , a large number of loyalists were holed up at the university and the rebels were still not able to get into the city center . 3 April – During the morning , the rebels tried to take the university campus and attack the industrial area only to be ambushed . They also came up on roadside mines . The operation led to the bulk of rebel forces retreating 30 to 35 kilometres from the town . Some of the better trained rebels continued fighting on Brega ' s outskirts locked in skirmishes and artillery duels with loyalist forces in the town . By the end of the day , the battle had come down to a stalemate with the rebels waiting on the road east of the city for more NATO air - strikes on loyalist positions in Brega . However , the few strikes that happened had little to no impact on the situation . According to witnesses , a truck of armed " western " men had arrived at the front line in Brega on the rebels side , raising the possibility that the coalition may be beginning to send in military advisors . The bulk of loyalist forces was reported to be centered around Brega ' s university campus , about a mile from the old town , and reluctant to engage the rebels due to exposure to air - strikes . They were instead digging in and acting as Brega ' s outer defense line , not allowing rebels into the town itself . 4 April – On 4 April , the rebels attempted another push and managed to capture the so - called " New Brega " , a housing district about from the old town . However , the loyalists still controlled the university and the old town which contains the seaport and industrial districts with the oil refinery . Fighting continued around the university with rebel forces advancing to within before bombardment from loyalist artillery positioned in Old Brega forced them to retreat once again . Rebels returned later and re - engaged in fighting with two fronts forming – one at the university and one at Brega ' s industrial complex . Rebels were able to hold on in New Brega district . However , even there , there was still ongoing fighting , with rebels trying to clear out any remaining loyalists . An opposition commander believed that there were 50 carloads worth of Gaddafi ' s forces still in Brega . By evening , the rebels were in control of New Brega . Loyalist forces were still positioned at the university and in Old Brega . Residents of New Brega began an evacuation . 5 April – The next day , after a night of fighting , rebels were pushed from inside the town to the outskirts . While the rebels were resting , loyalists used the night cover to take up positions and ambush the rebels in the morning while they were preparing to re - take their frontline positions . The rebels retreated some from the eastern edge of town to re - assemble and prepare for further fighting . While they were regrouping , an eight - vehicle loyalist convoy , approached the rebel ' s positions . It was hit by air - strikes destroying two vehicles while the rest turned back . An Agence France - Presse reporter and others confirmed there were no bodies found on the site of the air strike . At that point , while the opposition forces were cheered up by the air - strike , loyalist artillery started firing on the rebels which had led them to pull back from Brega in a panicked long retreat east towards Ajdabiya . In the afternoon , the rebel Saaiqa 36 Battalion fired Grad rockets at loyalists taking positions in the small village of al - Arbaeen , half way between Brega and Ajdabiya . During the exchange , four loyalist artillery shells hit a concentration of rebels causing a number of casualties . Later , both an NTC spokesman and Al Jazeera confirmed that following the early - morning artillery - backed counter - attack , loyalist troops had secured the whole of Brega . The next day , a BBC correspondent stated that heavy and accurate shelling from government troops had pushed most of the disorganised and poorly equipped rebel army back to the fringes of Ajdabiya . 6 April – In a continuation of the seesaw battle , rebels regained the outpost of al - Arbaeen , and amassed at the outskirts of Brega in preparation of another attack . CNN reported that the rebels managed to re - take 10 out of 40 kilometres of road between Brega and Ajdabiya they lost the previous day to the loyalists . 7 April – During the night , the rebels brought 17 tanks to the frontline east of Brega . However , in the morning , what appeared to be NATO air - strikes hit rebel positions and destroyed three of them , killing between 10 and 13 rebels and wounding between 14 and 22 . Five tanks were also damaged . Following the air - strikes , government troops started an artillery attack on the rebels . This led to another retreat away from Brega . Later during the day , rebels speculated that the air - strikes may have come from one of Gaddafi ' s fighter jets small enough to not be picked up on radar . The NTC stated it believed that the cause of the attack was due to Gaddafi ' s planes evading the no - fly zone . Following the attacks , loyalists chased the rebels to Ajdabiya , and both civilians and some rebels were on the verge of retreating from the city amid rumours Gaddafi ' s forces were preparing for an attack . By nightfall , Gaddafi ' s forces advanced to within of Ajdabiya and were in range to conduct rocket attacks on the city . Aftermath . By 8 April , most civilians had left Ajdabiya , but rebels regrouped in Ajdabiya which was still in rebel hands , after their forces fled in panic to several different directions near Ajdabiya . NATO acknowledged that it was responsible for the air - strikes on the rebel tanks , but refused to apologise for attack because they " had not been aware that the rebels were now using tanks " . During the day , pro - Gaddafi forces used the panic that the NATO air - strike caused to move within 17 to 19 kilometres ( 11 to 12 miles ) from Ajdabiya , putting them once again at its gates , less than two weeks after previously retreating from the town . By the next day , the battle for the city had already started .