leparisien-cover-2012-03-25 (Photo credit: Patrick Peccatte)

The brother of the man who killed seven people in south-west France in recent weeks has been charged over the murders, judicial sources say.

Abdelkader Merah, 29, is suspected of complicity in murder and theft, and involvement in terrorism. He will be kept in custody, prosecutors said.

Abdelkader Merah denies the accusations but says he was there when his brother stole a scooter used in the attacks.

He also denies being proud of his brother, who was killed on Thursday.

According to his lawyer, Abdelkader Merah “strongly condemns” his brother’s actions, saying he is “not at all proud” of them.

“Otherwise, he just hopes he does not become the scapegoat for his brother’s acts because this is in some ways what is happening,” Anne-Sophie Laguens said.

Mohamed Merah died in a shoot-out with police following a 32-hour siege of his apartment in Toulouse.

During the stand-off, he had admitted shooting dead three soldiers in two separate incidents, and, last Monday, killing three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in the city. Read more at the BBC…

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A gunman has shot dead a teacher and three children at a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse.

He opened fire on the Ozar Hatorah school in the north-east of the city, also seriously injuring a teenage boy.

The attacker fled on a scooter, in similar style to the killer of three soldiers in two separate incidents in the same part of France last week.

Police say the same .45 calibre gun was used in all three attacks. The search for the killer is now under way.

A special service in memory of the victims will be held at one of the synagogues in Toulouse at 17:00 (16:00 GMT). There will also be a silent march in Paris at 20:00.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, who flew to Toulouse, described the attack as a “national tragedy”. He has called for all schools in France to observe a minute’s silence on Tuesday and vowed to hunt down the killer. Read more at the BBC….

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