After a bloody two-day clash between his followers and allies, including Chechen mafia boss Nikolay Suleimanov, and Dudayev's loyalists in the centre of the Chechen capital Grozny on June 13–14, Labazanov fled the city and promptly declared a blood feud against Dudayev for the death of his relative (either a brother or a cousin), whose head was publicly displayed among the heads of three other Labazanov's henchmen.

[1][8][page needed] Labazanov assumed a role of a "Chechen Robin Hood", a self-styled defender of the people against the oppressive authorities.

[6] His private army of about 200 men, mostly former convicts like himself,[7] was based in and around the town of Argun and supplied with T-72 tanks and other heavy weapons provided by the Russian special services.

For the first two months the clashes were sporadic, but on September 4, Dudayev's forces attacked Labazanov's stronghold of Argun and after a fierce all-night battle during which dozens of fighters were killed on both sides succeeded in dislodging him out of the city.

The fighting culminated in the November 26 attempted raid on Grozny by the Chechen opposition supported by the covert Russian federal forces, which resulted in the final defeat for the Provisional Council and the open intervention by Moscow.