Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pledged to expel students at Boğaziçi University who protested the youth branch of his Justice and Development Party when it set up a stall to celebrate the country’s military victory in the Syrian province of Afrin, Russian-owned news site Sputnik said.

“God-fearing, national and local youth were distributing Turkish delight for Afrin,” Erdoğan said at a party congress in the Black Sea town of Samsun on Saturday.

“While these youth were giving out Turkish delight, those Communist, traitor-to-the-nation youth attempted to break up the stall. They are terrorist youths.”

Erdoğan promised to do everything he could to identify the far-left protesters.

“When we make out their appearances, we will not allow them the right to study at this university,” he said. “Universities cannot raise terrorist youths.”

Despite Boğaziçi being one of Turkey’s top universities, Erdoğan criticised it earlier this year for not properly reflecting Turkish culture, prompting an alumni association to come to its defence.