Around 500 immigrants storm border to force their way into Spanish enclave

Around 500 Sub-Saharan immigrants were able to force their way into the Spanish north-African enclave of Ceuta on Friday morning, local authorities reported.

The assault on the frontier happened at around 5 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) following a previously used tactic. The immigrants attacked four different points on the border and were able to force one of the doors in the six-meter high fence which divides what is effectively European territory from Morocco.

The Red Cross in Ceuta confirmed they had provided assistance to around 400 people, giving preference to those who had received cuts and bruises, while Spanish national TV station RTVE added that some immigrants had been taken to hospitals in the town.

Three Civil Guards were also injured in the incident.

The immigrants dispersed to different areas of Ceuta before the majority made their way to the Center for Temporary Immigrant Residency (CETI).

CETI already has 620 residents, despite having the capacity for only 512, and around 350 immigrants are reported to be in the street outside the center, where they are being attended to by police and the Red Cross.

This is the second major assault on the border in 2017, and follows the attempt made by an estimated 1,100 people on Jan. 1 to force their way into Ceuta, although on that occasion only two were successful.

Meanwhile, data published by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, on Wednesday showed that in 2016 around 1,000 people were able to cross from Morocco into Ceuta and the second Spanish enclave of Melilla. Endit