Tigray’s Ashenda Festival Postponed Amid Drone Strikes

The annual Ashenda festival, a cultural celebration of women and the Virgin Mary, was cancelled in Mekelle, Tigray’s capital, after a series of drone attacks left civilians injured and homes damaged.

Organizers had planned a stadium gathering for Saturday, but regional officials cited the “ongoing drone strikes and threat of war” as the reason for the decision.

On Thursday, a drone strike in Mekelle wounded 13 people and hit residential buildings. Earlier in August, additional drone incursions in Dandera and Raya‑Alamata reportedly killed one person and injured another. The Tigray regional administration accused federal forces of the attacks and called for international condemnation.

Last year’s peace deal that ended two years of fighting left the region still fragile. Tigray’s political landscape has shifted since the TPLF removed the interim administration set up under the accord.

The Ashenda festival, which started as a religious observance for Orthodox Christians, has become a major cultural event celebrating women across northern Ethiopia. Its name, meaning “tall green grass” in Tigrinya, reflects the tradition of young women dancing and braiding hair in bright attire.

With the festival postponed, many participants anticipate being able to resume the celebrations once the threat of conflict subsides.

For more, follow the latest updates on the situation in Tigray on national and international media outlets.