400 African migrants storm Moroccan-Spanish border fence

Altogether 400 illegal African migrants stormed through the fence border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Friday, Moroccan authorities said.

Authorities of the Moroccan city of Fnideq said in a statement that 20 policemen and 20 migrants were injured as the illegal migrants forced their way through the fence.

Some 300 migrants were arrested, while the injured were carried to a local hospital, the statement said, adding that investigations are underway.

On Wednesday, four sub-Saharan African migrants were drowned, with 34 others rescued, after their boat sank in the Mediterranean sea.

The group of migrants was on an inflatable boat off Morocco's northern city of Hoceima, local authorities said in a statement.

The statement did not confirm whether the boat was heading to Spain or the Spanish enclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, on the Moroccan coast.

Hundreds of sub-Saharan African migrants living illegally in Morocco try to enter Ceuta and Melilla each year, hoping to get a better life in Europe.

Both cities have six-meter-high border wire fences separating them from Morocco.

Figures suggest that illegal immigrants arriving in Spain via Morocco have dropped by 90 percent since 2002.

Over the past few years, the country has adopted a strict policy against illegal migrants to Europe via Morocco. Endit