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Yemeni President Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi and the country’s powerful Shiite militia agreed Wednesday to end a deadly confrontation that had raised fears the impoverished but strategic country might descend into chaos, The Daily Star reported, citing news agencies.

The Houthis seized almost full control of the capital Sanaa in September and have fought pitched battles with government forces this week as they continued to press for more political power.

The unrest has raised deep international concern, with the U.N. Security Council condemning the attacks and backing Hadi as Yemen’s “legitimate authority.”

Under a nine-point deal, the militia agreed to withdraw from government buildings they seized this week in return for concessions over a disputed draft constitution, state news agency Saba said.

The Houthis pledged to vacate the presidential palace, a day after seizing it, and to free Hadi’s chief of staff, Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, who was abducted Saturday.

In return, it would now be “possible to amend” the draft constitution dividing Yemen into six federal regions, which the Houthis opposed, Saba said.

“The draft constitution should be agreed upon by all factions,” according to the deal, and Yemen “will be a federal state in accordance with the outcome of the national dialogue.”