Updated

Several hundred African migrants have charged a barbed-wire border fence in Spain's North African enclave of Melilla with many managing to get across, but dozens of others were beaten back by Moroccan and Spanish police.

During the pre-dawn border storming Wednesday, cries of pain and noises of people being hit could be heard as police from both sides tried to prevent dozens of the sub-Saharan migrants from entering the city from Morocco.

Those who made it dashed through the streets to an official holding center were they were greeted by cheering migrants who have been there since previous crossings.

Spain's North African enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta are regularly targeted by large groups of African immigrants trying to cross into Europe.