Ruslan Khasbulatov, the speaker of Russia's disbanded Supreme Soviet, left Moscow on Monday as a self-proclaimed peace emissary to his native Chechnya, amid signs that a conflict between two rival governments in the breakaway republic could soon turn violent.


Arriving in the Chechen capital Grozny, Khasbulatov told supporters he was ready to negotiate a peace accord between President Dzhokhar Dudayev and rebels who control the north of the Caucasus republic, NTV Television reported.


Khasbulatov's arrival came hard on the heels of an opposition announcement Monday morning that they had set up an alternative government on Chechen soil, while several incidents threatened a violent turn to the rebels' standoff with Dudayev.


At least three people were killed and more were wounded in two shootings over the weekend and in one region panic erupted Monday when inhabitants fled on hearing rumors of an imminent Russian invasion.


A spokesman for Dudayev, who has run Chechnya virtually independently from Moscow since 1991, said Monday that Russian troops had been ordered to invade the region later this week, a charge immediately denied by Russia's Defense Ministry.


The long-simmering conflict between Dudayev, his political opponents and the Russian government, boiled over last week when 22 opposition leaders backed by Moscow formed a Provisional Council and claimed to be the only legitimate leadership in the region.


Officials on all sides of the conflict have warned of widespread bloodshed, including blood feuds between various clans and involvement of neighboring regions, if any side decides to attack.


A press release by Yeltsin's administration, which has been supportive of the Provisional Council, said Monday that Dudayev was losing control of his army and of most regions of the mountainous republic. It predicted Dudayev might either attack his opponents or flee to an Arab country.


Dudayev told Itar-Tass on Monday he was willing to resign if Russia recognized Chechnya's independence, a remark that appears to carry little weight as Russia has no intention of doing so.


Yeltsin's spokesman, Anatoly Krasikov, responded to Dudayev's offer by saying that Russia was not as much interested in Dudayev as in restoration of order and civil rights in the region.


"If Dudayev then gets elected, he can head Chechnya within the Russian Federation," Krasikov added.


Responding to Khasbulatov's visit, Krasikov said that Yeltsin's one-time rival "wants to play a personal role there. That is his personal business.


"Let him try. I have little faith in him," Krasikov added of the man who for nearly two years spearheaded Yeltsin's political opposition in Moscow Khasbulatov received a hero's welcome when he first returned to Chechnya this year, but a long-running dispute with Dudayev and suspicion of Khasbulatov's ambitions among the opposition make him an unlikely peacemaker.


Chechen government spokesman Movladi Udugov said Khasbulatov had arrived on a private visit.


"He is visiting his mother, and we can not stop him from doing so," Udugov said in a telephone interview.


Adnan Khatuyev, press secretary to the Provisional Council in Moscow, said Khasbulatov would be welcome to meet with the council but added, "Khasbulatov himself has said he knows he is not needed in Chechnya."


Umar Avturkhanov, the council's leader, announced Monday that he had formed a government of 13 ministers in the town of Znamenskoye, where he heads the regional administration.


Khatuyev said the Provisional Council controlled all of Chechnya but for the capital Grozny, adding that many armed Chechens were arriving daily in Znamenskoye to pledge their loyalty and defend the council in case Dudayev tried to crack down.


Udugov dismissed Khatuyev's claims as "nonsense," saying that "The situation is under control."


But Udugov added that an unidentified gang had killed three border guards and wounded four on Saturday. The guards came under attack on a bridge not far from Znamenskoye when they returned home, he said.


In another incident, a gang of 12 men shot at a bus carrying members of the Council of Elders on Sunday, wounding one, just outside Znamenskoye. According to Udugov, the Council had arrived on a peace mission but was forced to return to the capital.


Khatuyev confirmed both incidents but countered that Saturday's shooting had killed four soldiers loyal to Dudayev who had attacked an armed rebel checkpoint.Udugov said the Chechen army was preparing for an invasion, adding that the Novorossiyskaya Division of the Russian Army had been ordered to get ready to move into Chechnya later this week.