Drone attack strikes fear into organisers of Virgin Mary festival

21.8.2026
Organisers of a famous yearly festival celebrating women’s virginity and the Virgin Mary in northern Ethiopia has been put off following fears of drone attacks.
The cancellation of the of the eagerly awaited Ashenda festival came as a major disappointment to girls and young women in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The festival, which draws thousands of young women dressed in their finery, was to be a mass gathering at a stadium in Mekelle on Saturday.
Tigray is still recovering from a brutal two-year civil war that ended in 2022. There are concerns the conflict might reignite with the regional authorities blaming a recent series of deadly drone strikes on federal armed forces.
The three-day festival of Ashenda takes places as Orthodox Christians commemorate the Virgin Mary. Its name means “the tall green grass” in Tigrinya and has grown into a wider cultural event that celebrates women.
The latest drone strike hit Mekelle on Thursday, injuring 13 civilians and damaging homes, Tigray’s communications affairs bureau said.
Regional officials also reported two drone strikes near Dandera, 15km (nine miles) from Mekelle, on 18 August, saying that one person died and another was injured. They also said that a strike in Raya-Alamata district on 10 August left three dead.
Announcing the cancellation of Saturday’s stadium gathering Dori Asgedom, head of Tigray’s culture and tourism bureau, said it would not be going ahead because of “ongoing drone strikes and the threat of war”.
“The drone attack on innocent citizens in Mekelle city is an act that history will not forgive and should be condemned,” he added.
In 2022, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government signed a deal ending two years of fighting that its estimated left hundreds of thousands dead.
But political tensions this year have raised fears the conflict could start again. This comes after the TPLF removed the interim administration set up under the peace deal and reinstated its pre-war council. BBC reports