MUNICH/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Russia said on Saturday a Syria ceasefire plan was more likely to fail than succeed, as Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes took rebel ground near Aleppo and set their sights on the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa province.International divisions over Syria surfaced anew at a Munich conference where Russia rejected French charges that it was bombing civilians, just a day after world powers agreed on the “cessation of hostilities” due to begin in a week’s time.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated accusations that Russia was hitting “legitimate opposition groups” and civilians with its bombing campaign in Syria and said Moscow must change its targets to respect the ceasefire deal.
The conflict, reshaped by Russia’s intervention last September, has gone into an even higher gear since the United Nations sought to revive peace talks. These were suspended earlier this month in Geneva before they got off the ground.
In another sign of that escalation, Turkey’s military shelled Kurdish militia targets near the northern Syrian town of Azaz on Saturday, a Turkish military source said. A Kurdish official said the shelling targeted the Menagh air base in the northern Aleppo countryside, which he said had been captured by the Kurdish-allied Jaysh al-Thuwwar group.
The Syrian army also looked poised to advance into the Islamic State-held province of Raqqa for the first time since 2014, apparently to pre-empt any move by Saudi Arabia to send ground forces into Syria to fight the jihadist insurgents.
A Syrian military source said the army captured positions at the provincial border between Hama and Raqqa in the last two days and intends to advance further.
“It is an indication of the direction of coming operations toward Raqqa. In general, the Raqqa front is open … starting in the direction of the Tabqa area,” the source said.
Tabqa is the location of an air base captured by Islamic State two years ago, and the source said the army had moved to within 35 km (20 miles) of the base.
The cessation of hostilities deal agreed by major powers falls short of a formal ceasefire, since it was not signed by the warring parties – the government and rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad in a five-year war that has killed at least 250,000 people.
If its forces retake Aleppo and seal the Turkish border north of the city, Damascus would deal a crushing blow to the insurgents who were on the march until Russia intervened, shoring up Assad’s rule and paving the way to the current reversal of rebel fortunes.
Russia has said it will keep bombing Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which in many areas of western Syria fights government forces in close proximity to insurgents deemed moderates by Western states.