A group of would-be migrants tried to storm a razor wire fence separating Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Monday, officials said.
Interior Ministry officials gave no details as to how many people attempted to reach the enclave and would not confirm news reports that five Africans were injured. A news conference was scheduled for later in the day.
The rush comes a year after Spain endured a humanitarian crisis in Melilla and another enclave on the Moroccan coast, Ceuta, as hundreds of destitute Africans tried to scale the fences to get a foothold in Spain and thus Europe over the course of two weeks in September and October 2005. On some days more than 500 people
rushed the Melilla fence under the cover of night.
Eleven people died in clashes with security forces.
Since that crisis there has been just one major attempt to cross the fence in Melilla.
In July, between 50 and 70 migrants rushed the fence, and one man was killed. Spanish authorities said he may have fallen to his death and that Spanish authorities manning the fence did not use firearms that could have caused a lethal injury. – Sapa-AP