Over 2,000 'Moderates' Shell Aleppo Using 45 Vehicles - Russian MoD

More than 2,000 so-called "moderate rebels" shelled residential areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo using 22 battle tanks, 15 infantry fighting vehicles, eight "jihad-mobiles" and rocket artillery, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday.

"Most of the militants' vehicles have been destroyed," the minister underscored.

Shoigu said that eight humanitarian corridors are open for Aleppo residents to leave the embattled city but militants execute dozens of civilians daily for attempting to approach the passages.

"Is this the opposition with which it is possible to negotiate?" the defense minister asked.

He said the Russian Aerospace Forces have been grounded for 16 days.

"At the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, we have not been using aviation in Aleppo for 16 days."

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Assad fighting numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations such as Daesh and al-Nusra Front. Since the war's beginning it has claimed lives of thousands of people and displaced millions more. The international community has undertaken steps to end the Syrian conflict and to solve the humanitarian crisis in the Middle Eastern country.