Workers, guards injured after clash at project site

On learning about the incident, which occurred around noon, security forces arrived at the scene and took necessary steps to maintain peace.

Fire engines and ambulances were also rushed to the site. The injured were treated at the Hamad General Hospital.

It is not known what caused the fight, which some unconfirmed reports attributed to the refusal of the security guards, to allow the workers leave for the mid-day break, scheduled from 11.30am to 3pm.

A source said the brawl started after a heated exchange between a group of workers and the security guards, who not only refused the workers permission to go out for lunch but also denied them usage of the toilet at the site.

Another source said that the workers went on the rampage because they had not been paid. However, this information also could not be confirmed.

The workers complained that some of the guards beat them up with steel rods and hurled stones at them, a claim that could not be verified.

However, the security men said it was the workers who threw stones at them. They also claimed that the workers damaged a portacabin, scaffolding  and some furniture.

The summer mid-day work ban which came into effect on June 15 stipulates that no outdoor work should be carried out between 11.30am and 3pm.

Though efforts were made to contact the hotel and the contractor, none were available for their comments.

Sheraton Doha has been closed since March for extensive renovation works. The iconic hotel is expected to be reopened in December.

Last week, many workers of a manpower firm who protested the ‘inhuman’ living conditions at their accommodation in Sailiyah were sent home by their employers, sources at an Asian embassy said.