MOGADISHU, Somalia — Ethiopian troops in armoured vehicles rolled into the central Somali town of Baidoa Thursday and set up a camp near the home of the interim president, residents said, less than a day after Islamic militants reached the outskirts of the base of a UN-backed, but largely powerless government.

A spokesman for the Ethiopian government had said that his country would protect Somalia’s transitional government from attack by Islamic militias who control much of southern Somalia. Numerous witnesses told The Associated Press that Ethiopian soldiers arrived Thursday afternoon in Baidoa, 240 kilometres northwest of Mogadishu and about 150 kilometres east of the Ethiopian border.

The Ethiopians smiled and waved to residents as they drove into Baidoa. They kept off the streets after setting up a camp near the transitional president’s home in Baidoa, residents said.

One resident, speaking on anonymity because of fears of reprisals, said people were being kept off the roads leading to the building.