Western leaders condemned the coup by Myanmar's military against Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government and hundreds of thousands of her supporters took to social media to voice their anger at the takeover.
The sudden turn of events in the early hours of Monday derailed years of efforts to establish democracy in the poverty-stricken country and raised more questions over the prospect of returning a million Rohingya refugees.
The U.N. Security Council will meet on Tuesday, diplomats said, amid calls for a strong response to the detention of Suu Kyi and dozens of her political allies, although Myanmar's close ties with council member China will play into any decision.