On 5 March 2011, following the Battle of Ra's Lanuf, rebel forces advanced along the Mediterranean coast and captured the town of Bin Jawad.

[2] On the morning of 6 March, the rebels were on the move again and were passing through Bin Jawad, when they realized that loyalist forces had entered the town the previous night and taken up positions in houses and on rooftops in preparation for an ambush.

Government troops opened fire on the rebels with machine guns and RPGs and the opposition forces were soon in full retreat toward Ra's Lanuf.

After getting a chance to regroup, rebels moved up several multiple-rocket launchers from Ra's Lanuf and fired toward Bin Jawad.

[citation needed] On 27 March, rebels entered Bin Jawad after coalition air-strikes on tanks positioned there, and managed to recapture the town.