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A 19-year-old migrant made a desperate attempt to be smuggled into Spain by curling up inside a suitcase.

A Moroccan woman was arrested after the Gabon national was found stashed away inside the case in Cueta, a Spanish enclave next to Morocco in north Africa.

It comes as more than 1,100 desperate migrants stormed a border fence just hours into 2017 in an attempt to reach the Spanish territory.

They were trying to cross into the Spanish enclave but were met with a tall barbed wire fence and dozens of police.

(Image: Reuters)

Dozens of the migrants managed to scale the security fence, but were involved in in a tense stand-off with officers before many were lifted down with cranes.

Footage shows the men clinging on to the sharp fences, with one clearly exhausted falling before being handed a bottle of water from a member of the police.

Only two people were allowed into Ceuta to be taken to hospital while the rest were returned to Morocco, the Spanish government said in a statement.

The statement also said five Spanish police were injured after migrants used rocks and metal bars to try and break through gates to access the fence and clashed with authorities.

(Image: Reuters)

The red cross were also in attendance at the incident.

Spain's two enclaves in Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla, are often used as entry points into Europe for African migrants, who either climb over their border fences or try to swim along the coast.

(Image: Reuters)

Spain has drawn criticism from human rights groups for allowing some migrants to be immediately turned back to Morocco in such incidents.

They argue that skipping the lengthier deportation procedures deprives people of the opportunity to claim asylum.