text: Chechens exuberant but cautious on peace deal . Liutauras Stremaitis URUS-MARTAN , Russia 1996-08-31 Crowds of pro-independence Chechens greeted a newly-signed peace deal by singing , dancing and firing guns in the air on Saturday , but the celebrations held a trace of uncertainty . More than a thousand women , children and men gathered in a field to the north of the town of Urus-Martan on Saturday to wait for a column of rebels to withdraw from the capital Grozny about 25 km ( 12 miles ) away . The men fired weapons into the air as groups of women danced . Adults in the crowd carried posters of former Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev -- who declared independence in 1991 -- and children , carrying photographs of him , called " Troops out ! " . Russian military officials have expressed fears that the rebels and their supporters will see the deal signed by Russian peace envoy Alexander Lebed in the early hours of Saturday as a military victory for the separatists . It involves the withdrawal of Russian troops sent to Chechnya in December 1994 to crush the separatists and a postponement of the issue at the heart of the conflict -- the status of the mainly-Moslem North Caucasus region . But the people in the crowd on Saturday , who had turned out in support of the rebels , did not seem sure that the war was over . " We hope for the best , that it really has ended so we can live in peace . It 's our only dream , " said a 30-year-old woman , Mubatik Dagayeva . Aiza Dudayeva , with her 10-year-old son beside her , shared the guarded optimism . " We really want the war to end , we hope and believe that our sons and brothers will win , " said Dudayeva , adding that she was from Urus-Martan . Urus-Martan is a traditionally anti-separatist pocket in Chechnya and Moscow-backed leader Doku Zavgayev , who has been sidelined in the peace deal , has warned that it and places like it could become centres of civil war if Russian troops leave . But on Saturday the people gathered just outside the town seemed to be united in favour of the separatists . Two columns of rebels appeared in jeeps and cars , firing their guns in the air , as the crowd rushed towards them . Mouldi Mamatuyev , in his late 20 's , dressed in black and carrying a machine gun , was welcomed by his mother and sister . " Two sons have come back , " said his mother Nurbika Mamatuyeva . " It 's the end . We believe in God . " Mamatuyev joked that his sister Lisa was a rebel too , and she responded by grabbing hold of his gun and shouting the Chechen war cry " Allahu Akhbar " ( God is Greatest ) and " Freedom for Chechnya ! " . The fighter , sitting next to a man dressed in green and carrying a grenade-launcher , said that the strict Islamic law adopted by the rebels during the conflict was now needed to impose peace . " The war has ended if everything works out , if there is law there will be power . Only Sheriat ( Islamic law ) can end the war . "