Russia has sent a battalion of military police to keep order in Aleppo, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday, after the Syrian regime took full control of the ravaged city.

"We sent in a battalion of military police yesterday evening to maintain order in the liberated territories," Shoigu told Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A Russian battalion normally numbers between 300 and 400 soldiers.

The Russian military police is a subdivision of the military that is meant to ensure order and discipline in the army.

Putin hailed the recapture of Aleppo as a "very important part of the normalisation in Syria" and said that "everything needs to be done for fighting to stop on all Syrian territory."

Russian media earlier this month reported that scores of Chechens have been sent in as military police to Syria, with one video showing them chatting in the Chechen language while getting ready for their sendoff and wearing military police uniforms.

Source: AFP