Bahraini police on Saturday rescued nine Chinese men taken hostage by fellow laborers near a construction site in Zallaq, 25 kilometres south of the capital, Manama, dpa reported.
The operation occurred after negotiations led by the Ministry of Interior and a Chinese diplomat failed to persuade the Chinese workers to release the hostages, said to include architects and foremen at the job site, ministry officials said.
Police stormed the barricaded worker-housing compound after a siege that lasted several hours, freeing the nine men and arresting 26 workers of the approximately 150 residing in the camp.
Two workers and a police officer were slightly injured. The sources, who requested anonymity, said the workers, employees of the state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corp, alleged that the nine men were mistreating and underpaying them.
The workers had demanded the nine men be sent back to China and be replaced.
Founded in 1982, the firm is the largest construction enterprise, real estate developer and international contractor in China.
Police rescue nine Chinese supervisors held hostage by laborers
