The state security team is large, but covering forty cities won't be easy. Al Jazeera:
"The big question on everybody’s minds is; what will we see here in the capital [Damascus]. Last Friday people tried to march into the capital but they were turned back by tear gas.
"What we see now is that security forces are pre-empting protests by positioning themselves in the centre of towns like Homs and Daraa, so it will be difficult for the protesters to get to the centre of these towns when the security forces are already there."
The demonstrations will test whether Assad's decision on Thursday to lift emergency law, imposed by his Baath Party when it took power in a coup 48 years ago, will defuse mass discontent with repression and corruption.
"We are determined on totally peaceful protests... we rejoice at the downfall of the state of emergency. It was not lifted, it was toppled... With the help of God, we will embark on freedom," a comment on a Facebook page run by activists said.
