MADRID — Hundreds of migrants stormed border fences separating Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco on a journey to reach Europe, the police said Thursday.

Spain’s Civil Guard said 602 migrants made it onto Spanish soil in a massive assault on the high, barbed-wire fences shortly after dawn.

Migrants cut holes in the fences and threw feces and quicklime, a skin irritant, at police officers trying to hold them back, the Civil Guard said in a statement.

The police said 16 migrants and five police officers were hospitalized.

Sub-Saharan Africans living illegally in Morocco try to reach Europe each year by climbing rows of 20-feet-high fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s other North African enclave. Those who make it across head for temporary migrant accommodation centers.