A major festival in northern Ethiopia celebrating women and the Virgin Mary has been cancelled in Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region, amid fears it could be targeted in drone attacks. The Ashenda festival traditionally draws thousands of young women to a mass gathering, but Tigrayan officials cancelled Saturday's stadium event citing "ongoing drone strikes and the threat of war". The cancellation underscores rising fears that Tigray, still recovering from a devastating civil war that ended in 2022, could slide back into conflict.

Tigray's regional authorities blame recent deadly drone strikes on Ethiopia's federal forces, though the government has not responded to a BBC request for comment. A strike on Mekelle on Thursday injured 13 civilians and damaged homes, while separate strikes near Dandera on 18 August killed one person and injured another, and an earlier attack in Raya-Alamata on 10 August left three dead. Tensions have grown since the Tigray People's Liberation Front removed the interim administration set up under the 2022 peace deal and reinstated its pre-war council, with both sides accusing each other of failing to honour the agreement.