This briefing worries about the further destabilization of an already heated conflict between Turkey, the Kurds (PKK and YPG) and the so-called Islamic State (IS) on Syria’s northern border. More specifically, the briefing’s author 1) gauges the probability of further escalation in the area; 2) concludes that IS would be the only beneficiary of further turmoil; and 3) proposes some immediate steps to defuse the current standoff.