Battle of Brega–Ajdabiya road

Battle of Brega–Ajdabiya road
	Part of the Libyan Civil War
Date	8 – 18 April 2011 (first phase); 19 April – 23 June 2011 (second phase); 24 June – 13 July 2011 (third phase)
Location	Brega–Ajdabiya, Libya
Result	Stalemate; Fourth Battle of Brega Pro-Gaddafi forces entered Ajdabiya on 9 April, but rebel forces re-took the town by 11 April; Pro-Gaddafi forces repelled several rebel raids on Brega; Stagnant frontline formed between Brega and Ajdabiya on 18 April, scattered fighting continued for three months; Rebels started an all-out offensive to take Brega in July;
Belligerents
Anti-Gaddafi forces National Liberation Army; Free Libyan Air Force; UNSC Resolution 1973 forces NATO command;	Gaddafi Loyalists Libyan Army; Paramilitary forces; support: Belarus (military advisers);
Commanders and leaders
Abdul Fatah Younis (until 28 July); Suleiman Mahmoud; Hamid Hassy	Mutassim Gaddafi
Strength
5,000 (by 20 June)	1,500–3,000 (by 23 April); 3,000–7,000 (by late June/early July)
Casualties and losses
75–87 killed; 4 missing; 174–185 wounded; 1 attack helicopter and 2 Chinook transport helicopters* shot down	94–95 killed,; 59 captured 6–13 tanks destroyed in air-strikes (NATO claim; First phase); 78 technicals, 7 tanks and 6 armored vehicles destroyed in air-strikes (NATO claim; Third phase)
	26-46 Libyan and 1 Algerian civilian killed,; 70 Libyan civilians missing
	*No independent confirmation of the claim by the government to have shot down the two Chinooks, however, rebels confirmed the previous day that they had sent two helicopters into battle

The Battle of Brega–Ajdabiya road was a battle during the Libyan Civil War between forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and anti-Gaddafi forces for control of the towns of Brega and Ajdabiya respectively and the Libyan Coastal Highway between them.

This theater of the war saw a stagnant front forming quickly. By late June neither the loyalists or rebels were able to advance, and were thus holding firm on their respective sides of the frontline. In an effort to break the deadlock, NATO's air-force began an intensified bombing campaign of government military positions; by mid-July, however, the situation remained essentially unchanged.

Eventually, on 14 July 2011, the rebels started an all-out offensive in an attempt to break the stalemate. However, their attack was repelled and the deadlock continued.

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