However, they were forced to retreat 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.

[16] 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.

Some of the better trained rebels continued fighting on Brega's outskirts locked in skirmishes and artillery duels with loyalist forces in the town.

[8][23] 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.

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.

[24] 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.

[32] 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 20 kilometres (12 miles) long retreat east towards Ajdabiya.

[33][34] In the afternoon, the rebel Saaiqa 36 Battalion fired Grad rockets at loyalists taking positions in the small village of al-Arbaeen, halfway between Brega and Ajdabiya.

[7] 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.

[35] 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.

[36] 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.

[43] 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 mi) from Ajdabiya, putting them once again at its gates, less than two weeks after previously retreating from the town.