| Second Battle of Brega | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofLibyan Civil War | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Libyan opposition |  Libyan government | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Bashir Abdel-Qader[2] Khaled Kowati[3] | Muammar Gaddafi | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 2,000[citation needed] | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 5–7 killed[4] | 25 killed[5] 71 captured[6] | ||||||||
TheSecond Battle of Brega took place during theLibyan Civil War. Eleven days earlier, anti-Gaddafi forces had beaten back an attempt by loyalist forces to take the town on 2 March 2011, in theFirst Battle of Brega. Following that battle, rebel forces advanced along theLibyan Coastal Highway, taking the towns ofRa's Lanuf andBin Jawad. However, after theBattle of Bin Jawad and theBattle of Ra's Lanuf, government troops retook all of the lost territory and were once again threatening Brega by mid-March.
On 13 March, the regime's forces, advancing from Ra's Lanuf, succeeded in retaking Brega, though that night reports indicated that fighting was still ongoing and rebels possibly still controlled portions of the town.[7][8] Reportedly, the rebels re-entered the town and heavy fighting ensued, after which government troops retreated to Brega's airport.[5] However, just an hour later, it was stated that loyalist forces had pushed back rebel troops from the town to aj-Ojela, 20 kilometers east of Brega.[9]
By the morning of 14 March, rebel forces were holding the residential district and loyalist forces were holding the oil facilities.[10]
On 15 March, rebel forces had abandoned Brega and were in full retreat towards Ajdabiya. Ajdabiya itself came under ground attack just a few hours later, marking the beginning of theBattle of Ajdabiya.
On 26 March, after loyalistslost Ajdabiya and retreated further down the coast, rebel forces recaptured Brega.[11][12] A few days later, loyalist troops returned again, recapturing the city after aprolonged battle with rebel forces.[13]
30°26′6″N19°40′1″E / 30.43500°N 19.66694°E /30.43500; 19.66694
