Syrian National Council holds congress in Tunisia
About 200 members of the SNC are meeting near the capital Tunis in a bid to further unify the Syrian opposition.
Correspondents say delegates hope the council will emerge looking more like a government-in-waiting.
Earlier, thousands of anti-government protesters again took to the streets across Syria following Friday prayers.
Activists said at least six people had been killed by security forces in the central city of Homs, which has become a focal point for unrest.
"We need to unite the opposition and make it stronger," SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun told AFP news agency.
"We need to emerge from this congress with a higher level of organisation, clearer targets and more momentum."
Limited contact
The congress, in the resort of Gammarth north of Tunis, opened on Friday evening and runs until Sunday.
The formation of the SNC was formally announced in Istanbul in the Turkish city of Istanbul in September.
However, its leaders are mostly exiled intellectuals who have limited contact with those organising resistance inside Syria, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul.
Widespread anti-government protests encouraged by the Arab Spring began in Syria in March and triggered a harsh crackdown that has brought regional and international condemnation.
But after months of bloodshed and no sign of the regime falling, some Syrians have taken up arms in a bid to remove President Assad.
Earlier this month, the SNC said it had agreed to co-ordinate action with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), largely made up of renegade soldiers; Kazinform cites BBC.
To learn more go to www.bbc.co.uk