Tigray Cancels Ashenda Festival Gathering Over Drone Strike Fears

Authorities in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have cancelled the main stadium gathering of the Ashenda festival in Mekelle because of fears of drone strikes.

The three-day celebration, which honors women and the Virgin Mary, was scheduled to culminate on Saturday with a mass event that usually attracts thousands of young women in traditional dress.

Dori Asgedom, head of Tigray’s culture and tourism bureau, said the gathering would not go ahead because of ongoing drone strikes and the threat of war. He described a recent drone attack on Mekelle as an act that history will not forgive.

Regional officials reported that a drone strike on Thursday injured 13 civilians and damaged homes in the city. Additional strikes near Dandera on 18 August killed one person and injured another, while an earlier attack in Raya-Alamata district on 10 August left three dead.

Tigray is still recovering from a two-year civil war that ended with a peace agreement in 2022. Political tensions have risen again this year after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front withdrew from the interim administration established under the agreement and revived its pre-war council.

The Tigray administration has called on the international community to condemn the attacks and take urgent diplomatic action to prevent further escalation. Federal authorities have not publicly responded to the specific allegations regarding the latest strikes.

Ashenda is one of the most important cultural events in northern Ethiopia. Its cancellation in the regional capital underscores the fragility of the post-war settlement and the persistent risk of renewed violence.

Local residents and festival organizers now face the practical question of whether smaller, decentralized celebrations can proceed safely or whether the entire season will be marked by caution.