Facebook and WhatsApp are blocked in Myanmar after first protests against military takeover are streamed online and resistance in the country grows

Myanmar's junta blocked Facebook and Whatsapp in the name of ensuring stability on Thursday after protests against military rule were streamed online as reported by DailyMail.

Activists said at least three people were arrested at a street protest against the coup that ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Opposition to the junta has emerged very strongly on Facebook, which is the country's main internet platform and underpins communications for business and government.

Facebook's WhatsApp messaging was also blocked. 

Nobel Peace laureate Ms Suu Kyi faces charges for illegally importing communications equipment after the army takeover on Monday that has drawn Western condemnation and calls on the junta to respect her party's landslide victory in November elections.

Facebook was still available sporadically and demonstrators in the second city of Mandalay used it to livestream the first such street protest since the coup in a country with a bloody history of crackdowns on demonstrations.

'People's protest against military coup,' read one of the banners.

The group of around 20 people chanted: 'Our arrested leaders, release now, release now.'

Three people were arrested after the protest, three separate student groups said.

Reuters was unable to contact police for comment.

The social network has also been used to share images of a campaign of disobedience by staff at government hospitals across the country, with doctors stopping work or wearing ribbons in the red colour of Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).

Pictures shared on Wednesday showed workers at the agriculture ministry joining the campaign too.

Norway's Telenor Asa, Myanmar's leading mobile network operator, said it had no choice but to comply with the directive to block Facebook.

'Telenor does not believe that the request is based on necessity and proportionality, in accordance with international human rights law,' it said in a statement.

Facebook spokesman Andy Stone urged authorities to restore connectivity 'so that people in Myanmar can communicate with their families and friends and access important information'.

Some people used VPNs to evade the blockage. 

Twitter, which was not blocked, saw an increase in new users.