Spurred into verbal action by the horror of the latest massacres in Algeria, Western Governments are belatedly voicing concern to the Algerian authorities.

The international community has remained largely silent while tens of thousands have been killed in five years of violence.

Despite its silence, Europe has reason to be concerned about the situation in Algeria.

The country is a major producer of oil and gas, with most of its production going to Western Europe, mainly Italy, Germany and France.

"20% of Europe's gas comes from Algeria and that clearly is an important economic interest," said Menzies Campbell, foreign affairs spokesman for Britain's Liberal Democrat Party.

"But there is a wider political interest as a result of this conflict then the consequences could be very damaging - not least perhaps the risk of mass migration which could raise very considerable problems as to how that should be dealt with."

Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf

The polarisation of Algeria and the perceived siding of the West with the government of President Liamine Zeroual have other implications.

Disaffected youths

In France many of the disaffected youths in inner city areas hail from the countries of North Africa - Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

After a spate of bombings in France three years ago, several of the insurgents were found to be French Muslims of Algerian or Moroccan extraction.

There is a risk of a Europe-wide bombing campaign, on the scale of the Provisional IRA at its height, being perpetrated by alienated North African elements.

The danger could be even greater than the IRA because young, poverty-stricken Algerians indoctrinated with Islamic dogma could become the suicide bombers of the future.

Algeria is only one of many Arab countries in the grip of an Islamic fundamentalist insurgency.

Egypt has a similar problem, although not on the same scale. Morocco and Tunisia both have indigenous Islamic opposition movements, though these do not espouse violence.

Even neighbouring Libya, under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, is known to have executed Islamic fundamentalist opponents.

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