TERRORIST groups were accused of shelling a hospital in the besieged Syrian city of Daraa today as government forces seek to liberate it from jihadists.

According to state media reports, damage was caused to equipment and supplies in the renal department of Daraa National Hospital.

Mortar shells were also reported to have been fired in the al-Sahara district, damaging a number of homes and civilian property.

Daraa, which lies near to the border with Jordan 56 miles south of the capital Damascus, has been the scene of fierce fighting between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Islamist groups based there.

The Syrian military says that its troops are seeking to reconquer the city and bring an “end to the people’s suffering” in the entire province, which has seen hundreds of thousands displaced. 

Daraa is deemed by opposition groups to be the “birthplace of the revolution” after the anti-government uprising that sparked the war began there in March 2011.

But witnesses suggest that, far from being a peaceful movement demanding political reforms, the uprising was an armed insurgency led by Islamist groups aiming to overthrow the Syrian government.

Fighting has intensified over the past month, with SAA forces attempting to enter Daraa following a breakdown in negotiations between the government and the opposition groups that dominate the city.

Its residents are among those who refused to be bussed to the last jihadist stronghold of Idlib province on the Turkish border in July 2018 as part of a surrender deal.

They have rejected the outcome of the recent presidential election which Bashar al-Assad won with 95 per cent of the vote, causing Western governments to cry foul. 

Mr Assad had offered an amnesty for some locals in return for the handover of a certain amount of light weaponry and allowing the SAA to install three security checkpoints within the city.

But the jihadist forces gave up a mere 60 pieces of weaponry, most them damaged, which the Syrian government said was insufficient to fulfil the deal.

Shelling continued on Thursday, with opposition forces claiming to have killed at least eight government soldiers, taking control of 11 villages and 20 checkpoints.

They say that the SAA is laying siege to the city, cutting access to water and electricity as its seeks to regain control of the Islamist stronghold.

But Daraa Water Company spokesman Osama al-Qaderi said that water supply had been cut off by acts of sabotage, including a storming of the Tal al-Joumoa water pumping station.

Investigations are currently under way to identify the assailants.