1,100 migrants clash with border guards in Ceuta

FIFTY Moroccan and five Spanish border guards were injured when an estimated 1,100 African migrants attempted to break through a border fence at Ceuta.

The migrants were trying to get into the Spanish enclave from Morocco on Sunday morning (January 1st) in order to gain access to Europe.

Only two were successful, but they were taken to hospital for treatment to injuries sustained when scaling the six-metre fence.

The attempt comes after more than 400 migrants successfully breached Ceuta’s fence in December.

The Spanish government’s representative office in Ceuta described the latest attempt as “extremely violent and organised” after migrants used rocks and metal bars to try and break through gates at 04:00 on New Year’s Day.

Dozens reached the top of the fence only to be sent straight back to Morocco by Spanish authorities.

On a separate occasion the week before, Spanish police arrested a Moroccan woman trying to smuggle a 19-year-old migrant into Spain from Ceuta curled up inside a suitcase.