Inside Syria

President Bashar Assad's regime continues to crackdown on opposition protesters, despite international pressure to stop the violence. The U.N. estimates that over 5,400 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising against Assad's regime began last March. Reporting on the crisis has been hard to come by since Syrian authorities have kept a tight lid on foreign reporters entering the country. NBC News' Ayman Mohyeldin is one of the few Western journalists to have been granted permission to report inside the country in recent weeks. His photos give an inside look at what's going on inside Syria. In this photo, local residents of Maydaba show Arab League monitors how Syrian soldiers siezed their homes and set up sniper's nests overlooking the city on Jan. 20, 2012.

Damascus, Syria's capital city, is seen at sunset on Jan. 17, 2012 from Jebel Qasyoun. Many neighborhoods in Damascus are increasingly suffering from power outages as unrest spreads across Syria and inches closer to the capital.

A home in the city of Zabadani shows damage the family says was caused by mortars fired by the Syrian military against the residents. The photo was taken on Jan. 20, 2012.

A family stocks up on sweets and supplies at a Damascus market on Jan. 19, 2012. Food prices have soared as a result of international sanctions. Markets remain busy during the day, giving a false sense of normalcy to the streets of the capital.

Security checkpoints have become ubiquitous across the country, something that was a rarity for Syrians before the uprising began in March 2011. Soldiers stand guard at a makeshift checkpoint inside Deraa on Jan. 18, 2012. Deraa is one of the cities that sparked off the uprising against Assad's regime that have since spread to every major city in the country.

Residents of the western Syrian city of Zabadani say they have been "liberated" from the rule of Pres. Bashar al-Assad's regime. They unfurled a large opposition flag in a city square where they often hold rallies against the regime on Jan. 20, 2012.

Movement in Damascus has become extremely difficult since vehicles and people subject to spot checks by security forces. Here a soldier stops to inspect our vehicle and papers on Jan.18, 2012 despite having a government escort with our NBC News team.

A singer performs at a pro-government rally on Jan. 19, 2012. Songs and slogans at these pro-Assad rallies typically target Arab countries, Western powers and "terrorists" who are blamed for the uprising.

Patrons at a popular Damascus cafe gather for chess games and backgammon over coffee and tea on Jan. 20, 2012. But it's rare to find anyone willing to discuss politics or publicly criticize the regime. People for the most part are afraid of reprisals from the authorities for being outspoken.

Soldiers stand at a military post and watch passersby on Jan. 18, 2012 outside of the Al-Omary mosque, in the city of Deraa, where the first anti-Assad protests occured in March 2011.