The Algerian government will agree to a visit by European Union delegates as long as they discuss only co-operation in the fight against "terrorism", the Algerian Foreign Minister, Mr Ahmed Attaf, said yesterday.
Mr Attaf, who was interviewed during the evening news bulletin on state television, said his country had asked for no humanitarian aid for the survivors of the latest massacres.
The EU troika of Luxembourg, Britain and Austria will "be welcome" if it visits in the context of political dialogue between Algeria and the European Union and with the goal of discussing the "fight against terrorism", he said.
There has been an upsurge in massacres, mostly of civilians, in the past 10 days.
The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, confirmed on Wednesday that the EU would be sending a delegation in an attempt to work towards a solution to the appalling violence in the former French colony. The delegation, he said, would comprise representatives from Britain, which took over the rotating EU presidency on January 1st, past president Luxembourg, and Austria, which will take over on July 1st. A British foreign office spokesman said it was not yet clear when the visit would take place.
"We now have agreement in principle with our EU partners that a troika mission at official level should visit Algeria. This is an important initial step which will help the EU get a clearer picture of the situation on the ground," Mr Cook said.
Earlier, the Algerian government urged its people to mobilise against "terrorism" and reiterated its refusal to allow an international inquiry into the mass slaughter.
"The bloody and blind terrorist is targeting the Algerian people without any distinction in their ranks, particularly since the start of the holy month of Ramadan," the government said, vowing to hunt down the killers.
The statement late on Wednesday came just hours after security forces announced another 62 deaths in attacks in the western province of Relizane.
But the Cabinet denounced what it called the "dramatic retraction" by the international community in its commitment to combat "terrorism".
Several western capitals, expressing horror at the massacres, have urged Algiers to do more to protect civilians and called for an international inquiry to look into the killings.
Despite its angry rejection of "interference", Algeria has agreed to receive a special envoy from Canada.
The United States has stuck to its call for an inquiry but, after its ambassador in Algeria was lectured about interference, tried to make its idea more palatable to the Algerians by saying the aim would be to seek facts, not blame the government.