Obama: No return to status quo in Syria under tyrant Assad

Barack Obama has said there could be no return to the status quo under Syrian president Bashar al-Assad who he described as a "tyrant" in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

Addressing the Assembly, Obama said military power alone was not enough to resolve the situation in Syria and stamp out IS.

He said he was prepared to work with Iran and Russia, both staunch backers of Assad, to resolve the conflict in Syria.

Obama said: "The United States is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict.

"But we must recognize that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the pre-war status quo."

He added that "managed transition" away from Bashar al-Assad to a new leader was needed so that the people of Syria could move forward and rebuild.