 Government forces launched a counter-offensive that recaptured Ra's Lanuf and continued to advance as far as the outskirts of the de facto rebel capital of Benghazi.Under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, several Western and Arab countries then intervened with air and missile strikes, which turned the tide again in favour of the rebels.On 28 March, Al Jazeera reported that Sirte had been claimed to be taken by rebel forces overnight with little resistance, but other news organisations later reported that rebels and Gaddafi forces were fighting on the road between Bin Jawad and Sirte.