After four young asylum seekers reportedly attacked pedestrians at random in Amberg in northern Bavaria, far-right “neighbourhood defence groups” have started patrolling the streets of the town, according to German media reports.

On Saturday evening the four suspects allegedly physically assaulted 12 random people while under the influence of alcohol. One of the victims had to be taken to hospital to be treated for head wounds.

The suspects are all teenage asylum seekers between the ages of 17 and 19 from Afghanistan and Iran. Although they fled the scene, each of them has since been detained and is being held in custody while police further investigate the incident.

According to a report in the Mittelbayerische Zeitung, far-right extremists have started patrolling the streets of the town since the attacks as part of so-called “neighbourhood defence groups”.

The mayor of Amberg confirmed to the newspaper that men wearing yellow vests had been sent to the city by the extremist NPD party.

“I can completely understand the insecurity that some people in Amberg are feeling right now,” mayor Michael Cerny said. “But this hatred and the threats of violence now coming from all over the country go too far.”

Bavarian politicians were swift to condemn the attacks by the young asylum seekers. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who was until recently head of the Bavarian CSU party, said that he had been “shaken up” by the news. “This excess of violence is unacceptable,” he added.

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