Syria’s presidency announced on Tuesday that it had reached a new ceasefire agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces under which Syrian government forces would not enter the city centers of Hasakah and Qamishli, the latter a key Kurdish-controlled city on the Turkish border. The agreement added that Syrian military forces would not enter Kurdish villages “and that no armed forces will be present in those villages except for local security forces composed of the region’s residents.” Damascus said it was granting the SDF four days to implement the terms of the agreement.

The statement appeared to be an amended version of a 14-point ceasefire agreement signed between the sides on Sunday that was later rejected by the SDF, amid continued clashes with Syrian government forces along several frontlines. The SDF said in a statement that it had accepted the ceasefire.

The stakes are especially high as some of the fighting occurred around several facilities where ISIS prisoners are being held. Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that about 120 ISIS prisoners escaped from Shaddadi prison, which was previously under SDF control. Each side has accused the other of engineering the prisoners’ escape as clashes erupted outside the prison. The Interior Ministry said that 81 of the ISIS detainees had been recaptured. 

Meanwhile, Kurdish-led forces announced a withdrawal from the notorious al-Hol camp housing tens of thousands of ISIS-linked families, including some of the most radical jihadi women. The SDF said it was “compelled to withdraw” as a result of "international indifference towards the issue of [ISIS].” In a separate statement, SDF commander Mazloum Kobane said, “We withdrew to predominantly Kurdish areas, and protecting them is a red line.”