Migrants try to storm Spanish enclave in north Africa

About 1,000 African migrants tried to storm the Spanish exclave of Melilla from Moroccan territory early Wednesday, Spanish police reported, with about 400 managing to breach the territory's fortifications.

Migrants have repeatedly tried to cross the border into the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla on the northern coast of Africa, often climbing 6-metre-high fences that are reinforced with barbed wire en masse to try to overwhelm border guards. Both exclaves have long acted as gateways for migrants to Europe, and attempts to enter usually increase in the warm summer months. Migrants also make attempts to cross by boat from Morocco directly to the Spanish mainland.