Hundreds Of African Migrants With Weapons Storm And Break Through The Border Wall Of The Spanish Enclave of Ceuta

(DW) Spanish authorities said 11 guards in a territory in North Africa were injured when some 500 people forced their way through a border fence. The rush came as Morocco threatened it could let more migrants through.

Almost 500 migrants broke through the border of Spain's Ceuta enclave from Morocco on Friday.

A group of 700 people simultaneously rushed a gate in the 6-meter (20-foot) fence, with 498 making it into Spanish territory, the Spanish Civil Guard said. The mass entry was one of the largest since the fence was erected in 2005. Over 1,000 people stormed the border fence in January. For many, an attempt to reach a Spanish territory is safer than trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, a route to Europe that saw a record number of deaths in 2016.

A Ceuta government official told The Associated Press two migrants were hospitalized due to injuries they sustained in the assault and 11 Spanish police were also hurt. A Civil Guard spokesman said at least 10 members of Morocco's armed forces were also injured.

Ceuta's Red Cross emergency response team reported more than 30 migrants were treated at a migrant center for bone fractures and other injuries.

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