Hundreds of migrants reportedly tried to enter the Spanish exclave of Melilla from Morocco on Friday evening, following a mass influx into Ceuta earlier this week.

Around 500 people tried to cross the border into Melilla, state broadcaster RTVE reported. Security forces were deployed. About two hours later, at around 9 pm (1900 GMT), another attempt was made to breach the border fence.

According to the report, several migrants threw stones at security officers, who responded with tear gas. It was initially unclear whether any of the migrants had succeeded in entering Melilla. The Beni Enzar border crossing has been closed since Thursday evening.

The North African coastal cities of Ceuta and Melilla have been under Spanish control for centuries.

Citing the government, state broadcaster Radio Nacional reported on Friday that nearly 50,000 migrants had entered Ceuta irregularly in recent days via the Strait of Gibraltar. Regional President Juan Jesús Vivas put the figure even higher, at 60,000.

Meanwhile, the Madrid government said tens of thousands of migrants were voluntarily returning to Morocco across the border causeway.

On Friday evening, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares declared the crisis effectively over on X, writing that nearly all of those who had arrived in Ceuta had since returned to Morocco.