OSLO, Norway — Church bells rang out across Norway on Thursday to mark the 10th anniversary of the country’s worst peacetime slaughter as leaders called for renewed efforts to fight the extremism behind the attack that left 77 people dead.
Norway was united in “shock, grief and anger,” said King Harald, speaking at an evening memorial service where he apologized that not enough was done to curb what he called “the dark forces” in society.
On July 22, 2011, right-wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital of Oslo, killing eight people. Then he headed to tiny Utoya island, where he stalked the mostly teen members of the Labor Party’s youth wing, killing another 69.
Memorials were held across the country, including a service in Oslo Cathedral that ended with a ringing of bells as thousands gathered outside.