THE Syrian government called on rebels yesterday to switch sides as it launched a major counter-offensive.

Syrian helicopters dropped leaflets in the western province of Hama early yesterday morning warning civilians of the imminent military operation and urging them to evacuate.

Another leaflet offered those who had sided with insurgent forces a way back into the fold if they surrendered their arms.

“The future is in front of you and this is your chance to return to your motherland’s embrace,” it said. “The government will take care of you and welcome your return.”

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted a Russian military source’s claims that 3,000 Islamic State (Isis), Nusra Front and Yarmouk Army fighters had fled Syria to Jordan since the start of Moscow’s bombing last week.

“They are afraid of the army’s advance on all fronts and the Russian air strikes,” the source said.

Russia said yesterday that its jets had blitzed nine Isis targets in the previous 24 hours.

They included a concealed forest base near the north-western city of Idlib, where Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said 30 vehicles had been destroyed — including several ancient Soviet bloc T-55 tanks.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu vowed to defend his country’s border after Russia admitted that one of its air aircraft had mistakenly violated Turkey’s airspace on Saturday.

Turkey also claimed that a MiG-29 fighter had locked its radar onto two of its F-16s for almost six minutes. Russia has no MiG-29s in the area, although Syria operates the fighter.

Other Nato nations have joined Turkey in complaining that Russia is bombing the Free Syrian Army and not Nato’s preferred target Isis.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that his US counterpart John Kerry had failed to reveal where the rebel group was operating.

“Where is it?” he asked. “It remains a phantom group. Nothing is known about it.”

• Syrian antiquities chief Professor Maamoun Abdulkarim confirmed on Sunday that Isis had blown up the 2,000-year-old Arch of Triumph in the ruined ancient city of Palmyra.