Residents in a Yangon neighbourhood clap at 4.00pm following a "silent strike" on Friday that closed businesses and emptied the streets of cities and towns across the country to protest against military rule.

The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the February coup, with the economy in tatters and more than 1,300 people killed by security forces, according to a local monitoring group.

The streets of downtown Yangon -- Myanmar's commercial hub -- were deserted, with no street vendors and little traffic.