Syria's Assad predicts defeat for rebels

Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has said opposition fighters will not be victorious in their fight against his government, but that the "door to dialogue" remains open.

Assad's comments to Egyptian weekly magazine al-Ahram al-Araby will be published on Friday.

"The armed groups exercise terrorism against the state. They are not popular within society ... they will not be victorious in the end", Assad is quoted as saying.

Al Jazeera's Rory Challands reports.