Syrian opposition groups seek consensus at Qatar talks

Syrian opposition groups are set to resume talks in Qatar in a bit to form a united body through which to continue opposing President Bashar al-Assad.

The talks, currently being held in Qatar's capital Doha, continued into the early hours of Sunday.

"We have agreed on the main points of the formation of a Syrian national coalition or the forces of the opposition and revolution," opposition member Suhair Attassi was reported as saying by AFP.

"We will continue our discussions on the details on Sunday," he added.

The proposed unified group, tentatively called the Syrian National Initiative, is intended to merge disparate military and political groups to form a credible and coherent alternative to Assad's government.

The fractious opposition has so far been under pressure from the US and other backers in the region to clinch a deal and up their chances of internally oppose the Syrian regime, and ultimately end the violence.

However, the Syrian National Council - which is based outside the country - is concerned it may be side-lined by the new opposition body.

Activists and monitors estimated that more than 36,000 people have been killed in a long-running uprising against Assad's government.

Many thousands of have been forced to flee the country, since the unrest began last year.