A weeks-long strike took a violent turn on Saturday evening as military police hired to guard a garment factory fired rounds inside the building and severely beat one man, union leaders said.

As some 2,000 workers were striking at SL Garment Processing (Cambodia) on Saturday afternoon – some blocking the road outside and others demonstrating inside the factory – guards inside fired their guns above the heads of workers and demonstrators, said Kong Athit, vice president of Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union.

Then when Sun Seng, 50, tried to break up an argument between a striking worker and someone who returned to work, guards dragged him away and mercilessly beat him, Seng said in a video posted on the Cambodian Labour Confederation’s website. Seng was taken to Calmette Hospital, where he remained yesterday evening, an SL worker representative said.

SL official Sao Chhin said workers caused all of the violence, and added that at least 10 current workers were injured.