Uzbek troops are reported to have reclaimed control of the eastern town of Korasuv where rebels had announced they would build a strict Islamic state.
About 1,000 government forces are reported to have entered and occupied Korasuv overnight, arresting local leader Bakhtiyor Rakhimov and several aides who had announced a plan to rule according to Islamic law.
The town of 20,000, on the border with Kyrgyzstan, was taken over by locals on Saturday following the government's bloody crackdown of protesters in the town of Andijan the day before.
No shots were fired in last night's action, according to local residents.
President Karimov's government has blamed the unrest on militants and has denied that troops fired on any civilians, although reporters saw troops opening fire on protesters in Andijan on Friday.
The government cites 169 dead in Andijan, but opposition activists say more than 700 were killed - more than 500 in Andijan and about 200 in Pakhtabad - most of them civilians.
Interior minister Zakir Almatov yesterday dismissed allegations of a crackdown by troops in Pakhtabad.
AP