In pictures: Myanmar protests gather momentum

Protesters turned out in their thousands to oppose the military's suspension of democracy in Myanmar

Chanting in favour of democracy, thousands of people have flooded the streets of Myanmar's largest city to denounce last week's military coup.

The protests are the biggest display of defiance yet against the generals who seized power from elected leaders on Monday.

Myanmar - also known as Burma - has remained mostly calm since the coup.

But as anger has grown, small acts of civil disobedience have morphed into larger demonstrations.

Myanmar's military placed heavy restrictions on the internet ahead of the protests

Yangon on Saturday saw the largest street protest since the military coup

On Saturday, an almost total internet blackout failed to prevent groups of workers from streaming through Myanmar's main city, Yangon.

They were joined by young activists who demanded the release of civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained by the army.

Protesters called on police to support the people not the new military regime

Riot police blocked some roads in parts of Yangon, where protesters gathered

"Military dictator, fail, fail; Democracy, win, win," shouted some protesters, many of whom wore red - the colour of Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Some protesters held pictures of Ms Suu Kyi, while others flashed a three-finger salute - an act of resistance to authoritarianism.

Many of the protests have been led by young demonstrators, who have condemned the military

"They don't respect our people's votes and I think they are betraying the country," one protester told AFP news agency. "Our revolution starts today."

The protests came after a week of civil disobedience, which saw citizens banging pots and pans in nightly protests, as well as teachers and medics going on strike.

Residents in some cities have held nightly protests, banging pots and pans

On Friday, hundreds of teachers and students gathered outside Dagon University in Yangon, where they displayed the three-finger salute.

In response, the military ordered an internet shutdown and cracked down on social media, blocking Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Strikes against the military takeover have been staged at universities and hospitals

Despite this, demonstrators have promised to come back to the streets on Sunday.

The military overthrew Ms Suu Kyi's government after it alleged a November election won by her party was fraudulent, without providing conclusive evidence.

The move has been met with international outrage.

More on the Myanmar coup:

• What Myanmar's coup means for Aung San Suu Kyi

• How the military disrupted Myanmar's internet

• Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?

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