"I strongly condemn the coup in Myanmar and call on the military to release all who have been unlawfully detained in raids across the country," the president of the European Council tweeted.

"The outcome of the elections has to be respected and democratic process needs to be restored," he said.

In another tweet, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell insisted that the "Myanmar people want democracy".

"The EU stands with them," he said.

Neither reaction specifically mentioned the arrest of Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who had issued a pre-emptive call for people to reject any coup.

Myanmar's military has put the country under a state of emergency for a year.