Tigray Cancels Virgin Mary Festival Amid Rising Drone Threats

The three‑day Ashenda festival, observed by Orthodox Christians to honor the Virgin Mary, is traditionally called “the tall green grass” in Tigrinya and has evolved into a broader cultural celebration that honors women.

The event is especially anticipated by girls and young women across Tigray and other northern regions of Ethiopia.

During the festivities, participants dress in traditional attire, braid their hair in distinctive styles, and are permitted to dance and play together outdoors — activities that are otherwise discouraged at other times of the year.

On Thursday, the latest drone strike hit Mekelle, injuring thirteen civilians and damaging residential properties, according to the Tigray Communications Affairs Bureau.

Additional strikes near Dandera, fifteen kilometres from Mekelle, on 18 August resulted in one fatality and one injury, while a strike in the Raya‑Alamata district on 10 August claimed three lives.

Regional officials announced the cancellation of Saturday’s stadium gathering, citing ongoing drone attacks and the persistent threat of war.

“The drone attack on innocent citizens in Mekelle is an act that history will not forgive and must be condemned,” said Dori Asgedom, head of Tigray’s Culture and Tourism Bureau.

The Tigray regional administration called on the international community to break its silence, condemn the attack, and take urgent diplomatic steps to prevent further escalation.

In 2022, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the federal government signed an agreement that ended two years of conflict, which claimed an estimated hundreds of thousands of lives.

However, renewed political tensions this year have reignited fears of a renewed war, following the TPLF’s decision to replace the interim administration established under the peace deal with its pre‑war council.

Both parties accuse each other of failing to implement the agreement.

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