Land we took is ours, say Syria’s victorious Kurds

“It could go one of two ways,” said Michael Stephens, research fellow for Middle East studies at the Royal United Services Institute think tank. “The Kurds do want some sort of accommodation with Assad but are also ready to fight if they don’t get it. There could be a war coming, and it wouldn’t be pretty for either side. Both are heavily armed and with big friends. Everyone is looking at everyone else, thinking: ‘What leverage do you have?’ ”