After dark, in a residential neighbourhood in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, dozens of civilian volunteers were busy patrolling their streets one night last week, stopping and searching cars and checking documents.

“Our neighbourhood committee includes about 180 people. We’ve apprehended many people. And we’ve found a lot of suspicious materials, including guns and explosive devices,” said an older man who appeared to be co-ordinating the searches.

The volunteers are searching for Tigrayan rebels, and their supporters, under new state of emergency regulations introduced by the Ethiopian government in response to a Tigrayan military offensive.

Critics say thousands of people have been unjustly detained, but the clampdown appears to have widespread support in the capital.