The mission will be made up of officials from the so-called "troika" - the countries holding the past, present and future presidencies of the EU - who are currently Britain, Luxembourg and Austria.

EU diplomats are being careful not to anger Algerian authorities

In a bid to assuage the hostility of Algeria's military government to interference in the country's internal affairs, it was also agreed that the EU diplomats would only have contact with government officials.

The mission will not be going with an offer of humanitarian aid to the victims of the massacres. The EU has already made such an offer publicly but the Algerian authorities have said it is not required.

"This will be a first contact only with government officials," said one EU diplomat. "The general tone is one of prudence and realism."

France, the former colonial power in Algeria, blocked all previous proposals for EU intervention.

The wave of horrific massacres over recent weeks, however, has made continued silence on the crisis untenable and Paris has come round to accepting the need for action under the EU umbrella.

Algeria has said it will welcome the mission on condition the EU confines its mandate to discussions on fighting terrorism.

Who is to blame?

Algeria's military-backed rulers will not tolerate anything that smacks of an investigation into responsibility for the massacres, but international human rights groups have urged the EU not to sidestep the issue.

The majority of the massacres are believed to be the work of Islamic radicals. But there is also evidence that the armed forces have been involved in some incidents as well as frequently failing to come to the aid of civilians in distress.

Officials plan to report back to foreign ministers at their monthly meeting on January 26, when further steps to help stem the killings will be discussed.

Meanwhile, in the midst of diplomatic activity, the massacres and arguments over the exact numbers of those killed continue.