diff --git a/setup_local_env/configs/replication.config b/setup_local_env/configs/replication.config
index ff0c248..7aa26fc 100644
--- a/setup_local_env/configs/replication.config
+++ b/setup_local_env/configs/replication.config
@@ -1,15 +1,3 @@
-[remote "$REPLICA_INSTANCE_ID"]
-    $PULL_REPLICATION_URL
-    $PULL_REPLICATION_API_URL
-    fetch = +refs/*:refs/*
-    mirror = true
-    timeout = 600
-    rescheduleDelay = 15
-    replicationDelay = $REPLICATION_DELAY_SEC
-    createMissingRepositories = true
-    replicateProjectDeletions = true
-    replicateHiddenProjects = true
-    threads = 5
 [gerrit]
     autoReload = true
     replicateOnStartup = false
diff --git a/setup_local_env/configs/replication.remote b/setup_local_env/configs/replication.remote
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5724708
--- /dev/null
+++ b/setup_local_env/configs/replication.remote
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+[remote]
+    $PULL_REPLICATION_URL
+    $PULL_REPLICATION_API_URL
+    fetch = +refs/*:refs/*
+    mirror = true
+    timeout = 600
+    rescheduleDelay = 15
+    replicationDelay = $REPLICATION_DELAY_SEC
+    createMissingRepositories = true
+    replicateProjectDeletions = true
+    replicateHiddenProjects = true
+    threads = 5
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/setup_local_env/haproxy-config/haproxy.cfg b/setup_local_env/haproxy-config/haproxy.cfg
index de4f709..eb8bce4 100644
--- a/setup_local_env/haproxy-config/haproxy.cfg
+++ b/setup_local_env/haproxy-config/haproxy.cfg
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@
     http-check expect status 200
     server node1 $HA_GERRIT_SITE1_HOSTNAME:$HA_GERRIT_SITE1_HTTPD_PORT check inter 10s
     server node2 $HA_GERRIT_SITE2_HOSTNAME:$HA_GERRIT_SITE2_HTTPD_PORT check inter 10s backup
+    server node3 $HA_GERRIT_SITE3_HOSTNAME:$HA_GERRIT_SITE3_HTTPD_PORT check inter 10s backup
 
 backend write-backendnodes
     mode http
@@ -56,6 +57,7 @@
     http-check expect status 200
     server node1 $HA_GERRIT_SITE1_HOSTNAME:$HA_GERRIT_SITE1_HTTPD_PORT check inter 10s
     server node2 $HA_GERRIT_SITE2_HOSTNAME:$HA_GERRIT_SITE2_HTTPD_PORT check inter 10s backup
+    server node3 $HA_GERRIT_SITE3_HOSTNAME:$HA_GERRIT_SITE3_HTTPD_PORT check inter 10s backup
 
 backend ssh
     mode tcp
@@ -66,4 +68,5 @@
     timeout server 5m
     server ssh_node1 $HA_GERRIT_SITE1_HOSTNAME:$HA_GERRIT_SITE1_SSHD_PORT check inter 10s check port $HA_GERRIT_SITE1_HTTPD_PORT inter 10s
     server ssh_node2 $HA_GERRIT_SITE2_HOSTNAME:$HA_GERRIT_SITE2_SSHD_PORT check inter 10s check port $HA_GERRIT_SITE2_HTTPD_PORT inter 10s backup
+    server ssh_node3 $HA_GERRIT_SITE3_HOSTNAME:$HA_GERRIT_SITE3_SSHD_PORT check inter 10s check port $HA_GERRIT_SITE2_HTTPD_PORT inter 10s backup
 
diff --git a/setup_local_env/setup.sh b/setup_local_env/setup.sh
index b6cdab4..06fd7c7 100755
--- a/setup_local_env/setup.sh
+++ b/setup_local_env/setup.sh
@@ -78,6 +78,23 @@
   done
 }
 
+function copy_replication_remote_file {
+  fanout_template_file=$SCRIPT_DIR/configs/replication.remote
+
+  CONFIG_TEST_SITE=$1
+  export REPLICATION_HTTPD_PORT=$2
+  export REPLICATION_HOSTNAME=$3
+  export PULL_REPLICATION_URL=$(get_pull_replication_url $REPLICATION_HOSTNAME)
+  export PULL_REPLICATION_API_URL=$(get_pull_replication_api_url $REPLICATION_HOSTNAME)
+  export REPLICA_INSTANCE_ID=$4
+  fanout_file=$REPLICA_INSTANCE_ID.config
+
+  mkdir -p $CONFIG_TEST_SITE/replication
+
+  echo "Replacing variables for file $fanout_template_file and copying to $CONFIG_TEST_SITE/replication/$fanout_file"
+  cat $fanout_template_file | envsubst | sed 's/#{name}#/${name}/g' > $CONFIG_TEST_SITE/replication/$fanout_file
+}
+
 function start_ha_proxy {
 
   export HA_GERRIT_CANONICAL_HOSTNAME=$GERRIT_CANONICAL_HOSTNAME
@@ -87,11 +104,14 @@
 
   export HA_GERRIT_SITE1_HOSTNAME=$GERRIT_1_HOSTNAME
   export HA_GERRIT_SITE2_HOSTNAME=$GERRIT_2_HOSTNAME
+  export HA_GERRIT_SITE3_HOSTNAME=$GERRIT_3_HOSTNAME
   export HA_GERRIT_SITE1_HTTPD_PORT=$GERRIT_1_HTTPD_PORT
   export HA_GERRIT_SITE2_HTTPD_PORT=$GERRIT_2_HTTPD_PORT
+  export HA_GERRIT_SITE3_HTTPD_PORT=$GERRIT_3_HTTPD_PORT
 
   export HA_GERRIT_SITE1_SSHD_PORT=$GERRIT_1_SSHD_PORT
   export HA_GERRIT_SITE2_SSHD_PORT=$GERRIT_2_SSHD_PORT
+  export HA_GERRIT_SITE3_SSHD_PORT=$GERRIT_3_SSHD_PORT
 
   cat $SCRIPT_DIR/haproxy-config/haproxy.cfg | envsubst > $HA_PROXY_CONFIG_DIR/haproxy.cfg
 
@@ -133,13 +153,28 @@
   CONFIG_TEST_SITE_2=$LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2/etc
   GERRIT_SITE2_REMOTE_DEBUG_PORT="5006"
   GERRIT_SITE2_INSTANCE_ID="instance-2"
+  # SITE 3
+  GERRIT_SITE3_HOSTNAME=$7
+  GERRIT_SITE3_HTTPD_PORT=$8
+  GERRIT_SITE3_SSHD_PORT=$9
+  CONFIG_TEST_SITE_3=$LOCATION_TEST_SITE_3/etc
+  GERRIT_SITE3_REMOTE_DEBUG_PORT="5007"
+  GERRIT_SITE3_INSTANCE_ID="instance-3"
 
   # Set config SITE1
   copy_config_files $CONFIG_TEST_SITE_1 $GERRIT_SITE1_HTTPD_PORT $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1 $GERRIT_SITE1_SSHD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE2_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE1_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE2_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE1_REMOTE_DEBUG_PORT $GERRIT_SITE1_INSTANCE_ID $GERRIT_SITE2_INSTANCE_ID
-
+  copy_replication_remote_file $CONFIG_TEST_SITE_1 $GERRIT_SITE2_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE2_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE2_INSTANCE_ID
+  copy_replication_remote_file $CONFIG_TEST_SITE_1 $GERRIT_SITE3_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE3_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE3_INSTANCE_ID
 
   # Set config SITE2
   copy_config_files $CONFIG_TEST_SITE_2 $GERRIT_SITE2_HTTPD_PORT $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2 $GERRIT_SITE2_SSHD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE1_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE1_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE2_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE2_REMOTE_DEBUG_PORT $GERRIT_SITE2_INSTANCE_ID $GERRIT_SITE1_INSTANCE_ID
+  copy_replication_remote_file $CONFIG_TEST_SITE_2 $GERRIT_SITE1_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE1_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE1_INSTANCE_ID
+  copy_replication_remote_file $CONFIG_TEST_SITE_2 $GERRIT_SITE3_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE3_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE3_INSTANCE_ID
+
+  # Set config SITE3
+  copy_config_files $CONFIG_TEST_SITE_3 $GERRIT_SITE3_HTTPD_PORT $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_3 $GERRIT_SITE3_SSHD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE1_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE1_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE3_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE3_REMOTE_DEBUG_PORT $GERRIT_SITE3_INSTANCE_ID $GERRIT_SITE1_INSTANCE_ID
+  copy_replication_remote_file $CONFIG_TEST_SITE_3 $GERRIT_SITE1_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE1_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE1_INSTANCE_ID
+  copy_replication_remote_file $CONFIG_TEST_SITE_3 $GERRIT_SITE2_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_SITE2_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_SITE2_INSTANCE_ID
 }
 
 function is_docker_desktop {
@@ -406,10 +441,13 @@
 export GERRIT_CANONICAL_PORT=${GERRIT_CANONICAL_PORT:-"8080"}
 GERRIT_1_HOSTNAME=${GERRIT_1_HOSTNAME:-"localhost"}
 GERRIT_2_HOSTNAME=${GERRIT_2_HOSTNAME:-"localhost"}
+GERRIT_3_HOSTNAME=${GERRIT_3_HOSTNAME:-"localhost"}
 GERRIT_1_HTTPD_PORT=${GERRIT_1_HTTPD_PORT:-"18080"}
 GERRIT_2_HTTPD_PORT=${GERRIT_2_HTTPD_PORT:-"18081"}
+GERRIT_3_HTTPD_PORT=${GERRIT_3_HTTPD_PORT:-"18082"}
 GERRIT_1_SSHD_PORT=${GERRIT_1_SSHD_PORT:-"39418"}
 GERRIT_2_SSHD_PORT=${GERRIT_2_SSHD_PORT:-"49418"}
+GERRIT_3_SSHD_PORT=${GERRIT_3_SSHD_PORT:-"59418"}
 export REPLICATION_DELAY_SEC=${REPLICATION_DELAY_SEC:-"5"}
 export SSH_ADVERTISED_PORT=${SSH_ADVERTISED_PORT:-"29418"}
 HTTPS_ENABLED=${HTTPS_ENABLED:-"false"}
@@ -418,6 +456,7 @@
 export COMMON_LOCATION=$DEPLOYMENT_LOCATION/gerrit_setup
 LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1=$COMMON_LOCATION/instance-1
 LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2=$COMMON_LOCATION/instance-2
+LOCATION_TEST_SITE_3=$COMMON_LOCATION/instance-3
 HA_PROXY_CONFIG_DIR=$COMMON_LOCATION/ha-proxy-config
 HA_PROXY_CERTIFICATES_DIR="$HA_PROXY_CONFIG_DIR/certificates"
 PROMETHEUS_CONFIG_DIR=$COMMON_LOCATION/prometheus-config
@@ -430,7 +469,7 @@
 export FAKE_NFS=$COMMON_LOCATION/fake_nfs
 
 if [ "$JUST_CLEANUP_ENV" = "true" ];then
-  cleanup_environment $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2 $COMMON_LOCATION
+  cleanup_environment $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_3 $COMMON_LOCATION
   exit 0
 fi
 
@@ -500,10 +539,10 @@
 # New installation
 if [ $NEW_INSTALLATION = "true" ]; then
 
-  cleanup_environment $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2 $COMMON_LOCATION
+  cleanup_environment $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_3 $COMMON_LOCATION
 
   echo "Setting up directories"
-  mkdir -p $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2 $HA_PROXY_CERTIFICATES_DIR $FAKE_NFS
+  mkdir -p $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_3 $HA_PROXY_CERTIFICATES_DIR $FAKE_NFS
   java -jar $DEPLOYMENT_LOCATION/gerrit.war init --batch --no-auto-start --install-all-plugins --dev -d $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1
 
   # Deploying TLS certificates
@@ -544,18 +583,19 @@
   # Replicating environment
   echo "Replicating environment"
   cp -fR $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1/* $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2
+  cp -fR $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1/* $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_3
 
-  echo "Link pullreplication plugin"
-  ln -s $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1/plugins/pull-replication.jar $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1/lib/pull-replication.jar
-  ln -s $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2/plugins/pull-replication.jar $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2/lib/pull-replication.jar
+  for location_test_site in $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_3
+  do
+    echo "Link pullreplication plugin on $location_test_site"
+    ln -s $location_test_site/plugins/pull-replication.jar $location_test_site/lib/pull-replication.jar
 
-  echo "Link multi-site library to plugin directory"
-  ln -s $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1/lib/multi-site.jar $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1/plugins/multi-site.jar
-  ln -s $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2/lib/multi-site.jar $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2/plugins/multi-site.jar
+    echo "Link multi-site library to plugin directory on $location_test_site"
+    ln -s $location_test_site/lib/multi-site.jar $location_test_site/plugins/multi-site.jar
 
-  echo "Copy pull-replication plugin"
-  cp -f $DEPLOYMENT_LOCATION/pull-replication.jar $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1/plugins/pull-replication.jar
-  cp -f $DEPLOYMENT_LOCATION/pull-replication.jar $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2/plugins/pull-replication.jar
+    echo "Copy pull-replication plugin on $location_test_site"
+    cp -f $DEPLOYMENT_LOCATION/pull-replication.jar $location_test_site/plugins/pull-replication.jar
+  done
 
 fi
 
@@ -577,16 +617,15 @@
 prepare_broker_data
 
 echo "Re-deploying configuration files"
-deploy_config_files $GERRIT_1_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_1_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_1_SSHD_PORT $GERRIT_2_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_2_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_2_SSHD_PORT
-echo "Move replication and delete-project plugins to /lib on gerrit site 1"
-mv $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1/plugins/{replication,delete-project}.jar $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1/lib/.
-echo "Starting gerrit site 1"
-$LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1/bin/gerrit.sh restart
-echo "Move replication plugin to /lib on gerrit site 2"
-mv $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2/plugins/{replication,delete-project}.jar $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2/lib/.
-echo "Starting gerrit site 2"
-$LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2/bin/gerrit.sh restart
+deploy_config_files $GERRIT_1_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_1_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_1_SSHD_PORT $GERRIT_2_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_2_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_2_SSHD_PORT $GERRIT_3_HOSTNAME $GERRIT_3_HTTPD_PORT $GERRIT_3_SSHD_PORT
 
+for location_test_site in $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2 $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_3
+do
+  echo "Move replication and delete-project plugins to /lib on gerrit $location_test_site"
+  mv $location_test_site/plugins/{replication,delete-project}.jar $location_test_site/lib/.
+  echo "Starting gerrit $location_test_site"
+  $location_test_site/bin/gerrit.sh restart
+done
 
 if [[ $(ps -ax | grep haproxy | grep "gerrit_setup/ha-proxy-config" | awk '{print $1}' | wc -l) -lt 1 ]];then
   echo "Starting haproxy"
@@ -604,10 +643,12 @@
 echo "GERRIT HA-PROXY: $GERRIT_CANONICAL_WEB_URL"
 echo "GERRIT-1: http://$GERRIT_1_HOSTNAME:$GERRIT_1_HTTPD_PORT"
 echo "GERRIT-2: http://$GERRIT_2_HOSTNAME:$GERRIT_2_HTTPD_PORT"
+echo "GERRIT-3: http://$GERRIT_3_HOSTNAME:$GERRIT_3_HTTPD_PORT"
 echo "Prometheus: http://localhost:9090"
 echo
 echo "Site-1: $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_1"
 echo "Site-2: $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_2"
+echo "Site-3: $LOCATION_TEST_SITE_3"
 echo
 echo "$HTTPS_CLONE_MSG"
 echo
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.java
index f47cea5..69cdb06 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.java
@@ -22,22 +22,31 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.server.config.GerritInstanceId;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.Event;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.events.EventListener;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.index.change.ChangeIndexer;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.forwarder.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.FetchRefReplicatedEvent;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationState;
+import java.io.IOException;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.errors.MissingObjectException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.RefUpdate;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Repository;
 
 public class FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler implements EventListener {
   private static final FluentLogger logger = FluentLogger.forEnclosingClass();
+  private final GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManager;
   private ChangeIndexer changeIndexer;
   private final String instanceId;
 
   @Inject
-  FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler(ChangeIndexer changeIndexer, @GerritInstanceId String instanceId) {
+  FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler(
+      ChangeIndexer changeIndexer,
+      @GerritInstanceId String instanceId,
+      GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManager) {
     this.changeIndexer = changeIndexer;
     this.instanceId = instanceId;
+    this.gitRepositoryManager = gitRepositoryManager;
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -48,8 +57,16 @@
 
       if (event instanceof FetchRefReplicatedEvent && isLocalEvent(event)) {
         FetchRefReplicatedEvent fetchRefReplicatedEvent = (FetchRefReplicatedEvent) event;
-        boolean isMetaRef = RefNames.isNoteDbMetaRef(fetchRefReplicatedEvent.getRefName());
-        if (!RefNames.isRefsChanges(fetchRefReplicatedEvent.getRefName())
+        // This removal of the ':' prefix is needed because of Issue 426470297 in the
+        // pull-replication plugin
+        // that may leave the deleted refs notification as a ref-spec instead of the deleted
+        // ref-name.
+        String refName =
+            fetchRefReplicatedEvent.ref.startsWith(":")
+                ? fetchRefReplicatedEvent.ref.substring(1)
+                : fetchRefReplicatedEvent.ref;
+        boolean isMetaRef = RefNames.isNoteDbMetaRef(refName);
+        if (!RefNames.isRefsChanges(refName)
             || !fetchRefReplicatedEvent
                 .getStatus()
                 .equals(ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED.toString())) {
@@ -60,23 +77,64 @@
         logger.atFine().log(
             "Indexing ref '%s' for project %s",
             fetchRefReplicatedEvent.getRefName(), projectNameKey.get());
-        Change.Id changeId = Change.Id.fromRef(fetchRefReplicatedEvent.getRefName());
-        if (changeId != null && isMetaRef) {
-          catchStorageExceptionForMissingUnknown(
-              () -> changeIndexer.index(projectNameKey, changeId),
-              "Skipping indexing of "
-                  + projectNameKey
-                  + "~"
-                  + changeId.get()
-                  + " because its patch-sets aren't replicated yet");
-        } else if (changeId != null) {
-          changeIndexer.index(projectNameKey, changeId);
-        } else {
-          logger.atWarning().log(
-              "Couldn't get changeId from refName. Skipping indexing of change %s for project %s",
-              fetchRefReplicatedEvent.getRefName(), projectNameKey.get());
+        Change.Id changeId = Change.Id.fromRef(refName);
+
+        try (Repository repo = gitRepositoryManager.openRepository(projectNameKey)) {
+          if (changeId != null) {
+            RefUpdate.Result fetchRefReplicatedEventResult =
+                fetchRefReplicatedEvent.getRefUpdateResult();
+            if ((RefUpdate.Result.FORCED.equals(fetchRefReplicatedEventResult)
+                    || RefUpdate.Result.NO_CHANGE.equals(fetchRefReplicatedEventResult))
+                && repo.exactRef(refName) == null) {
+              logger.atInfo().log(
+                  "Deleting change '%s' from index following the forced delete of '%s' on project"
+                      + " %s",
+                  changeId, refName, projectNameKey.get());
+              // NOTE: The change has been already deleted and we just don't know if it was a
+              // locally
+              // created change or imported, because the meta-data is not there anymore.
+              // In the future, it would be best to have that information passed to the event by the
+              // pull-replication plugin *before* the delete, and added to the
+              // FetchRefReplicatedEvent,
+              // so that multi-site can use it for computing the virtual change-id and assuring the
+              // delete
+              // of the imported changes as well.
+              if (isMetaRef) {
+                catchStorageExceptionForMissingUnknown(
+                    () -> changeIndexer.delete(changeId),
+                    "Skipping deleting from index of "
+                        + projectNameKey
+                        + "~"
+                        + changeId.get()
+                        + " because its patch-sets aren't replicated yet");
+              } else {
+                changeIndexer.delete(changeId);
+              }
+            } else {
+              logger.atInfo().log(
+                  "Indexing change '%s' following update of '%s' on project %s",
+                  changeId, refName, projectNameKey.get());
+              if (isMetaRef) {
+                catchStorageExceptionForMissingUnknown(
+                    () -> changeIndexer.index(projectNameKey, changeId),
+                    "Skipping indexing of "
+                        + projectNameKey
+                        + "~"
+                        + changeId.get()
+                        + " because its patch-sets aren't replicated yet");
+              } else {
+                changeIndexer.index(projectNameKey, changeId);
+              }
+            }
+          } else {
+            logger.atWarning().log(
+                "Couldn't get changeId from refName. Skipping indexing of change %s for project %s",
+                refName, projectNameKey.get());
+          }
         }
       }
+    } catch (IOException e) {
+      logger.atSevere().withCause(e).log("Unable to process event %s", event);
     } finally {
       Context.setForwardedEvent(isForwarded);
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultisiteReplicationFetchFilter.java b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultisiteReplicationFetchFilter.java
index 89310bf..8423d2e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultisiteReplicationFetchFilter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/validation/MultisiteReplicationFetchFilter.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import com.gerritforge.gerrit.globalrefdb.GlobalRefDbLockException;
 import com.gerritforge.gerrit.globalrefdb.RefDbLockException;
 import com.gerritforge.gerrit.globalrefdb.validation.SharedRefDatabaseWrapper;
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSortedSet;
 import com.google.common.collect.Sets;
 import com.google.common.flogger.FluentLogger;
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.google.inject.Singleton;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.multisite.Configuration;
+import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.FetchOne.LockFailureException;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.ReplicationFetchFilter;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.Collections;
@@ -34,6 +36,7 @@
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.SortedSet;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.ObjectId;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Ref;
@@ -96,20 +99,25 @@
 
   @Override
   public Map<String, AutoCloseable> filterAndLock(String projectName, Set<String> fetchRefs)
-      throws RefDbLockException {
+      throws LockFailureException {
+    // Use a SortedSet to ensure that they are always locked in the same order and therefore
+    // prevents potential deadlocks where multiple fetch tasks are mutually locking each other
+    // by locking different refs in different orders.
+    SortedSet<String> sortedFetchRefs = ImmutableSortedSet.copyOf(fetchRefs);
     Project.NameKey projectKey = Project.nameKey(projectName);
     Set<String> filteredRefs = new HashSet<>();
     Map<String, AutoCloseable> refLocks = new HashMap<>();
     try {
-      for (String ref : fetchRefs) {
+      for (String ref : sortedFetchRefs) {
         refLocks.put(ref, sharedRefDb.lockLocalRef(projectKey, ref));
       }
-      filteredRefs.addAll(filter(projectName, fetchRefs));
+      filteredRefs.addAll(filter(projectName, sortedFetchRefs));
     } catch (RefDbLockException lockException) {
       filteredRefs.clear();
-      throw lockException;
+      throw new LockFailureException(
+          "Unable to lock refs " + sortedFetchRefs + " for project " + projectName, lockException);
     } finally {
-      for (String excludedRef : Sets.difference(fetchRefs, filteredRefs)) {
+      for (String excludedRef : Sets.difference(sortedFetchRefs, filteredRefs)) {
         AutoCloseable excludedLock = refLocks.remove(excludedRef);
         if (excludedLock != null) {
           try {
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandlerTest.java b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandlerTest.java
index e7e0d8a..f7ef474 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandlerTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/googlesource/gerrit/plugins/multisite/index/FetchRefReplicatedEventHandlerTest.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import static com.google.gerrit.testing.GerritJUnit.assertThrows;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.eq;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.doReturn;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.doThrow;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Change;
 import com.google.gerrit.entities.Project;
 import com.google.gerrit.exceptions.StorageException;
+import com.google.gerrit.server.git.GitRepositoryManager;
 import com.google.gerrit.server.index.change.ChangeIndexer;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.Context;
 import com.googlesource.gerrit.plugins.replication.pull.FetchRefReplicatedEvent;
@@ -35,6 +37,7 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.errors.MissingObjectException;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.ObjectId;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.RefUpdate;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Repository;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.transport.URIish;
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
@@ -42,20 +45,46 @@
 public class FetchRefReplicatedEventHandlerTest {
   private static final String LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID = "local-instance-id";
   private static final String REMOTE_INSTANCE_ID = "remote-instance-id";
+  private static final Project.NameKey PROJECT_NAME_KEY = Project.nameKey("testProject");
   private ChangeIndexer changeIndexerMock;
+  private GitRepositoryManager gitRepositoryManager;
+  private Repository repository;
   private FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler;
   private static URIish sourceUri;
 
   @Before
   public void setUp() throws Exception {
     changeIndexerMock = mock(ChangeIndexer.class);
+    gitRepositoryManager = mock(GitRepositoryManager.class);
+    repository = mock(Repository.class);
+    doReturn(repository).when(gitRepositoryManager).openRepository(any());
     fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler =
-        new FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler(changeIndexerMock, LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID);
+        new FetchRefReplicatedEventHandler(
+            changeIndexerMock, LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID, gitRepositoryManager);
     sourceUri = new URIish("git://aSourceNode/testProject.git");
   }
 
   @Test
   public void onEventShouldIndexExistingChange() {
+    String ref = "refs/changes/41/41/meta";
+    Change.Id changeId = Change.Id.fromRef(ref);
+    try {
+      Context.setLocalEvent(true);
+      fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
+          newFetchRefReplicatedEvent(
+              PROJECT_NAME_KEY,
+              ref,
+              ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
+              LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID,
+              RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD));
+      verify(changeIndexerMock, times(1)).index(eq(PROJECT_NAME_KEY), eq(changeId));
+    } finally {
+      Context.unsetLocalEvent();
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void onEventShouldDeleteChangeFromIndex() {
     Project.NameKey projectNameKey = Project.nameKey("testProject");
     String ref = "refs/changes/41/41/meta";
     Change.Id changeId = Change.Id.fromRef(ref);
@@ -63,8 +92,12 @@
       Context.setLocalEvent(true);
       fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
           newFetchRefReplicatedEvent(
-              projectNameKey, ref, ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED, LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID));
-      verify(changeIndexerMock, times(1)).index(eq(projectNameKey), eq(changeId));
+              projectNameKey,
+              ref,
+              ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
+              LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID,
+              RefUpdate.Result.FORCED));
+      verify(changeIndexerMock, times(1)).delete(eq(changeId));
     } finally {
       Context.unsetLocalEvent();
     }
@@ -86,7 +119,11 @@
           .index(eq(projectNameKey), eq(changeId));
       fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
           newFetchRefReplicatedEvent(
-              projectNameKey, ref, ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED, LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID));
+              projectNameKey,
+              ref,
+              ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
+              LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID,
+              RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD));
       verify(changeIndexerMock, times(1)).index(eq(projectNameKey), eq(changeId));
     } finally {
       Context.unsetLocalEvent();
@@ -113,7 +150,11 @@
               () ->
                   fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
                       newFetchRefReplicatedEvent(
-                          projectNameKey, ref, RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED, LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID)));
+                          projectNameKey,
+                          ref,
+                          RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
+                          LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID,
+                          RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD)));
       assertThat(indexException).isEqualTo(storageExceptionForMissingObject);
       verify(changeIndexerMock, times(1)).index(eq(projectNameKey), eq(changeId));
     } finally {
@@ -128,7 +169,11 @@
     Change.Id changeId = Change.Id.fromRef(ref);
     fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
         newFetchRefReplicatedEvent(
-            projectNameKey, ref, ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED, REMOTE_INSTANCE_ID));
+            projectNameKey,
+            ref,
+            ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
+            REMOTE_INSTANCE_ID,
+            RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD));
     verify(changeIndexerMock, never()).index(eq(projectNameKey), eq(changeId));
   }
 
@@ -139,7 +184,11 @@
     Change.Id changeId = Change.Id.fromRef(ref);
     fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
         newFetchRefReplicatedEvent(
-            projectNameKey, ref, ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED, LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID));
+            projectNameKey,
+            ref,
+            ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
+            LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID,
+            RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD));
     verify(changeIndexerMock).index(eq(projectNameKey), eq(changeId));
   }
 
@@ -150,7 +199,8 @@
             Project.nameKey("testProject"),
             "invalidRef",
             ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.SUCCEEDED,
-            LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID));
+            LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID,
+            RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD));
     verify(changeIndexerMock, never()).index(any(), any());
   }
 
@@ -160,7 +210,11 @@
     String ref = "refs/changes/41/41/meta";
     fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
         newFetchRefReplicatedEvent(
-            projectNameKey, ref, ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.FAILED, LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID));
+            projectNameKey,
+            ref,
+            ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.FAILED,
+            LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID,
+            RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD));
     verify(changeIndexerMock, never()).index(any(), any());
   }
 
@@ -170,15 +224,23 @@
     String ref = "refs/changes/41/41/meta";
     fetchRefReplicatedEventHandler.onEvent(
         newFetchRefReplicatedEvent(
-            projectNameKey, ref, ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.NOT_ATTEMPTED, LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID));
+            projectNameKey,
+            ref,
+            ReplicationState.RefFetchResult.NOT_ATTEMPTED,
+            LOCAL_INSTANCE_ID,
+            RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD));
     verify(changeIndexerMock, never()).index(any(), any());
   }
 
   private FetchRefReplicatedEvent newFetchRefReplicatedEvent(
-      Project.NameKey projectNameKey, String ref, RefFetchResult fetchResult, String instanceId) {
+      Project.NameKey projectNameKey,
+      String ref,
+      RefFetchResult fetchResult,
+      String instanceId,
+      RefUpdate.Result refUpdateResult) {
     FetchRefReplicatedEvent event =
         new FetchRefReplicatedEvent(
-            projectNameKey.get(), ref, sourceUri, fetchResult, RefUpdate.Result.FAST_FORWARD);
+            projectNameKey.get(), ref, sourceUri, fetchResult, refUpdateResult);
     event.instanceId = instanceId;
     return event;
   }