Ethiopia's Virgin Mary festival in Tigray cancelled over drone strike fears

What the report says

BBC Africa reports that Mekelle, the main city in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, has cancelled the central stadium gathering for Ashenda, a three-day festival linked to the Virgin Mary and widely celebrated by girls and young women. The decision affects an event that was expected to draw thousands on Saturday and comes amid heightened fears that the area could be targeted by drone strikes.

Tigray authorities said the cancellation followed a recent series of aerial attacks, including one in Mekelle on Thursday that regional officials said injured 13 civilians and damaged homes. They also cited earlier strikes near Dandera and in the Raya-Alamata district this month, which they said caused deaths and injuries. The regional culture and tourism bureau said the event would not go ahead because of ongoing drone strikes and the threat of war.

Ashenda is traditionally observed as Orthodox Christians commemorate the Virgin Mary, and in northern Ethiopia it has also become a broader cultural celebration of women. BBC Africa notes that the festival is especially popular among girls and young women, who take part in dancing and other public festivities that are normally less common at other times of the year.

The cancellation comes as Tigray continues to recover from the two-year civil war that ended in 2022. BBC Africa says political tensions between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and Ethiopia’s federal government have renewed concern that conflict could escalate again, while the government had not responded to requests for comment on the latest accusations.