By Doyinsola Oladipo
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Ethiopia has "exercised immense restraint" and achieved notable progress with its neighbors in spite of "reckless external actors," Ethiopian President Taye Atske-Selassie Amde told world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
He spoke to the 193-member world body hours after renewed fighting between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government shattered a four-year-old peace deal.
The new hostilities follow months of growing animosity between the two sides threatening a wider regional conflict.
"Despite continued interference in our internal affairs by adversarial elements, we have exercised immense restraint," Selassie Amde said.
"Our message to forces of destruction and mayhem is loud and clear. We urge them to respect the sacred right of the people of the Horn of Africa to live in peace and prosperity."
Forces from the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray launched a major offensive against the federal government on Wednesday. Tigray's leaders said they had entered a defensive war to counter aggression by the federal government.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo; Editing by Howard Goller)
