Al Jazeera has gained access to confidential documents prepared for the Syrian president by the country's intelligence and security chiefs on the current conflict.

The files provide an insight into President Bashar al-Assad's strategy to suppress anti-government protests, including the lengths the government went to for protecting its strongholds.

The documents, running into hundreds of pages, pointed to a government that was desperate to keep control of the capital Damascus and included clear orders to stop protesters from getting into the city.

Al Jazeera's James Bays reports.