In a surprising change in position, the army-backed government in Algeria has agreed to accept a visit by the proposed European Union mission.

Algiers has previously said it will not accept what it calls interference in its internal affairs. But it has come under growing international pressure over the massacres of hundreds of civilians.

The mission will be the first such intervention by the EU in an area seen as a potential threat to stability in Europe itself.

The Algerian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf, said on state-run television that the EU mission would be welcomed on condition it had a clear goal, to deal with confronting terrorism.

"If the real aim of the European initiative is to offer co-operation to combat terrorism then this shows an awakening and a progression by the EU which we welcome," he said.

But the minister reiterated his government's rejection of any international inquiry into the massacres of hundreds of civilians in western Algeria.

Villagers given guns and prepared to defend themselves

"Our position regarding an inquiry mission, whether or not from the UN, is that we reject it categorically because it is a blatant interference in our internal affairs," he said.

"Algeria has not and will never accept such inquiries because things in Algeria are clear: there is a state confronting terrorism through its legitimate mean. There is no doubt or confusion or mystery that requires investigation or inquiry."

In London the British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, said the decision to send a fact-finding mission as "an important initial step which will help the EU get a clearer picture of the situation on the ground.

"It will also enable the EU to make clear to the Algerian government the concern felt in Europe about the security situation in Algeria and our desire to offer humanitarian assistance," said Mr Cook, speaking in his capacity as EU president.

"We want to help the government of Algeria in lifting the terrorism from the people of Algeria."

The delegation is expected to be made up of officials from Britain, Luxembourg and Austria, but its precise mandate has not been settled.

European leaders united on need for action

Plans to send the EU mission to Algeria were among the subjects discussed between British ministers and European Commissioners in London.

"The Algerian crisis is of immense concern with the horrendous slaughter of innocent people," the President of the European Commission, Jacques Santer, told a news conference.

"We have no intention to interfere in the internal affairs of Algeria but we cannot stand by in the face of the proliferation of these atrocities."

His comments were echoed by the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who described the recent wave of massacres in Algeria as appalling.

"I don't think that anyone can be indifferent to the scale of the suffering and the appalling circumstances there," he said.

The Arab League is also sending an envoy to Algeria with an offer to help the Algerian leadership to end the bloodshed there.

In the past 10 days up to 1,000 civilians have been massacred in attacks the Algerian government blames on Islamic militants.

Between 60,000 and 80,000 have died in the past six years since the authorities cancelled a general election which Islamic fundamentalists seemed poised to win.

In the latest violence, about 30 more people were killed in previously unreported attacks this week in Algiers and the west of Algeria.

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