International Women's Day rally in central Istanbul, Turkey
© ReutersInternational Women's Day rally in central Istanbul, Turkey
A group of 20 people brandishing knives attacked an International Women's Day event at a university in Turkey's largest city Istanbul leaving several students with injuries including stab wounds, local media reported Tuesday.

The attack took place in the well-known Bilgi University and a video posted on Twitter by Turkish women's organization Yeryüzü Kadınları showed university security guards intervening to stop the attackers.

The university confirmed the attack in a statement Tuesday saying that "a group of 15 to 20 jumped over the gates of the santralIstanbul campus to attack the students, chanting Allahu akbar (God is great)," Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The university added that six of the attackers were detained by police who arrived at the scene and the rest of the mob fled. Some of the students joined the extremist attackers and the university said they have launched a legal action against those involved.


Hurriyet posted photos of Irem Esmer one of the students injured in the attack, showing a bruise around her eye. The women's organization said she was recovering well and was looking forward to joining an evening march in the city.

Students slammed the university's authorities for failing to increase security measures after several similar attacks.

"We are talking about knives here. They dragged one girl by the hair and slammed her head on the ground ... we were threatened on Twitter, we informed you ... you didn't take any steps and they were encouraged and came here," a student was heard telling university staff after the attack in another video posted on Twitter.

The attack came just hours before around 2,000 women filled Istanbul's central Istiklal street to denounce the government's policies. "I want women to be free in Turkey. I am against rape, pressure and beatings," protester Gulcan Ozer told Reuters.

"We are human beings. We are all equal. There is no difference between men and women. We even have equal strength."

The march was part of wider demonstrations that took place across Turkey this week to mark International Women's Day and raise awareness about women's rights.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, a devout Sunni in the Muslim-majority nation, has in the past been criticized by women's groups for failing to speak out against domestic violence, and for saying he did not believe in gender equality.