Thousands of Soviet troops were sent to the Fergana Valley, southeast of the Uzbek capital Tashkent, to re-establish order after clashes in which local Uzbeks hunted down members of the Meskhetian minority in several days of rioting between June 4–11, 1989; about 100 people were killed. On June 23, 1989, Gorbachev removed Rafiq Nishonov as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Uzbek SSR and replaced him with Karimov, who went on to lead Uzbekistan as a Soviet Republic and subsequently as an independent state. COUNT 5
QSN1 Who went to the Fergana Valley to restore order? ANS1 Soviet troops QSN2 Where is the Fergana Valley located? ANS2 southeast of the Uzbek capital QSN3 Who were targeted by the local Uzbeks? ANS3 members of the Meskhetian minority QSN4 Who was fired from First Secretary position by Gorbachev?  ANS4 Rafiq Nishonov QSN5 Who replaced Nishonov? ANS5 Karimov