Tens of thousands of people protested in Myanmar's main city, Yangon, demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday.

China Media Group's reporter Gao Jiayi was on the ground and described the protest as largely peaceful, with police cars patrolling the city. The majority of the protesters are young people, including students and workers, Gao said.

One day ago, thousands of protesters gathered on the streets of Myanmar's cities to denounce the military's detainment of government leaders and demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained officials despite a blockade on the internet by the military.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won November 8 elections in a landslide, a result the generals have refused to recognize, claiming fraud.

Earlier, thousands marched to the city hall of Myanmar's largest city Yangon. Drivers honked horns and leaned out of their cars and raised the three-finger salute, a gesture returned by protesters. Some of them held up NLD flags or pictures of Suu Kyi and clapped and danced.

By evening, the protesters had mostly dispersed. But for a fifth night, a cacophony rose in the darkness as people banged on pots, pans and drums in a show of resistance even as power cuts affected many districts of the city.

Thousands more took to the streets in Myanmar's second largest city Mandalay and its capital Nay Pyi Taw, home to the nation's government servants, where demonstrators called for Suu Kyi's release.

The protests built despite a blockade of the internet imposed after demonstrators first began to gather. The military did not respond to requests for comment. It extended a social media crackdown to Twitter and Instagram after seeking to block Facebook, which counts half of the population as users.

Facebook urged the military to unblock social media. "At this critical time, the people of Myanmar need access to important information and to be able to communicate with their loved ones," Rafael Frankel, Facebook's head of public policy for Asia-Pacific emerging countries, said in a statement.

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner said on Twitter that "internet and communication services must be fully restored to ensure freedom of expression and access to information."

A civil disobedience movement has been building in Myanmar all the week, with doctors and teachers among those refusing to work. The protests in Yangon would resume on Sunday, demonstrators said. 

The military's detainment of government leaders has sparked international outrage, with the United States considering sanctions against the generals and the UN Security Council calling for the release of all detainees.

(China Media Group's reporter Gao Jiayi contributed to the video)

(With input from Reuters)