Global Talk: Can Kurdish forces hold onto gains in Syria? – Ep 25

Members of Kurdish People Defence Units (YPG) flash victory sign after coming from Syrian town of Raqqa, in Tel Abyad, Syria in June 2015. Sedat Suna/EPA

“One of the problems is that the Kurdish forces lack manpower, and as a result they have started forcefully recruiting Kurds to join them. Their main risk is that they are overstretched.”

Wladimir van Wilgenburg, an Erbil-based Middle East analyst who focuses on Kurdish politics, talks to The National about whether the Kurds can hold onto their gains in Syria, what their next steps will be, and how their successes risk strengthening ISIL.