Ethiopia’s Ashenda festival in Tigray cancelled amid drone strike fears

Sun Sep 06 2026 01:24:39 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The traditional celebration of women and the Virgin Mary in Mekelle has been called off after a series of drone attacks scare organisers and participants.

In Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the three‑day Ashenda festival has been cancelled because of escalating drone strikes. The festival, which celebrates women and the Virgin Mary, typically draws thousands of young women in bright costumes. Recent attacks have injured civilians and damaged property, prompting officials to fear the gathering could become a target. As Tigray struggles with the aftermath of a two‑year conflict that ended in 2022, authorities warn that the region could see renewed violence. This pause highlights the fragile peace and the pressure on cultural events in volatile settings.

Ethiopia’s Ashenda festival in Tigray cancelled amid drone strike fears

In Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, the long‑anticipated Ashenda festival has been cancelled because organisers fear that the gathering may become a target of drone attacks.

Ashenda, a three‑day celebration that honours the Virgin Mary, is a major cultural event for women in the area. On the day of the planned stadium gathering, young women traditionally dress in bright white garments, braids, silver cross necklaces and share the streets in dance and music.

Recent drone strikes in the city have injured thirteen civilians and damaged homes. The regional authorities also reported two earlier strikes near Dandera, 15 km from Mekelle, that left a person dead and another injured, and a strike in Raya‑Alamata district that killed three people on 10 August.

“The drone attack on innocent citizens in Mekelle city is an act that history will not forgive,” Dori Asgedom, head of Tigray’s culture and tourism bureau, said in a statement cancelling the stadium gathering. He added that the threat of war makes the event unsafe.

The region is still recovering from the civil war that lasted until 2022, which left hundreds of thousands dead. Tensions remain high after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) dissolved the interim administration set up under the peace deal and reinstated its pre‑war council, prompting accusations on both sides of the federal and regional governments for failing to implement the peace agreement.

The cancellation of Ashenda underscores the fragility of peace in Tigray and the risk that cultural festivals could be swept up in the region’s ongoing conflict.