Sawt Falasteen - Peru evacuates 1,600 tourists from Machu Picchu amid protest

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, the ancient fortified complex receives around 4,500 visitors a day, many of them foreigners, according to the tourism ministry.

Visitors travel some 110 kilometers (68 miles) by train from the city of Cusco -- the Inca empire's ancient capital -- to the Aguas Calientes train station, then take a bus to the entrance of Machu Picchu.

Residents placed logs and rocks on the tracks Monday to demand that their interests be represented in the bidding process for the new bus operator, after the previous firm's 30-year concession expired.

Authorities on Tuesday evening evacuated 156 visitors, adding to the approximately 1,400 that were brought out before.

A police statement said 14 officers were injured in clashes with protesters during Monday night's temporary unblocking of the tracks.

Tourism Minister Desilu Leon said earlier Tuesday that around 1,400 tourists had been evacuated while another 900 were stranded.

Later in the day, Oscar Luque -- representative of the Ombudsman in Cusco -- told AFP that evacuations had resumed and protests paused until Wednesday morning.

"Right now, I'm on a train with all the tourists who were stranded at Machu Picchu," he said.

- Architectural marvel -

Among the foreign tourists were French, Japanese, American, Polish, Brazilian, German, and Portuguese nationals, according to the list seen by AFP.

Luque said that any other stranded tourists will be moved by Wednesday morning, adding some had chosen to remain at the site.

The protest is organized by the Machu Picchu Defense Front, which announced in a Sunday statement that it would continue its action indefinitely until the new transport company started operations.

It argued that the new bus operator should be owned by one of the communities involved in the protest.

Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century at an altitude of 2,500 meters (about 8,200 feet) on orders from the Inca ruler Pachacutec.

It is considered a marvel of architecture and engineering, but has repeatedly been the scene of protests by locals pressing social demands.

Tourism is key to the economy of Peru.

Q.Jaber--SF-PST