Khartoum — The Sudanese police on Tuesday ordered its forces not to intervene against demonstrators and said it wanted to encourage an agreement for "a peaceful transition of power".

"We call on God to preserve the security and calm of our country ... and to unite the Sudanese people .. for an agreement which would support the peaceful transition of power," a police spokesman said in a statement. It added it "ordered all its forces" not to "intervene against the citizens or peaceful rallies".

The call by the police, following a policy of non-intervention by the military, came as thousands of protesters massed for the fourth straight day outside army headquarters in Khartoum, urging the top brass to back their call on President Omar al-Bashir to resign.

The protests, which first began in December, pose the biggest challenge to Bashir in his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

Thousands chanting "freedom, freedom" stayed camped outside army headquarters in Khartoum since Saturday, after security forces abandoned two separate bids to disperse them when soldiers fired in the air to protect demonstrators earlier in the day, witnesses said.

It added that police had "ordered all its forces" not to "intervene against the citizens or peaceful rallies". The US, the UK and Norway too called for a transition plan. — Agencies