Nearly 500 migrants push into Spanish North African enclave

By ARITZ PARRA
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — Officials in a Spanish enclave in North Africa say that 491 migrants have crossed the fences separating Melilla from Morocco. At least 20 migrants and 16 border patrol agents were injured. The Spanish government representative in Melilla says she was surprised over 2,000 people attempted the crossing on Wednesday, one of the highest numbers on record. Videos online showed jubilant men celebrating, some of them covered in blood, as their made their way to a migrant center. People fleeing poverty or violence wait for weeks or even months in the vicinity of Melilla and Ceuta, another Spanish territory on the North Africa coast, waiting for the best opportunity to surprise guards on both sides of the border.