Kaniwar, who wouldn't give his last name for safety concerns, is a Syrian Kurd from Ras al-Ayn. He spoke to NPR by phone from the nearby village he fled to after the fighting intensified.

PESHAWAR: Residents of Charsadda district have opposed the construction of a bypass road Kaniwar village, which they said would destroy a local graveyard, and asked the government to avoid changes ...