DAKAR, Senegal >> The Nigerian army, part of a military criticized for rampant human rights abuses, used the words of President Donald Trump on Friday to justify its fatal shootings of rock-throwing protesters.

Soldiers opened fire Monday on a march of about 1,000 Islamic Shia activists who had been blocking traffic in the capital, Abuja. Videos circulated on social media showed several protesters hurling rocks at the heavily armed soldiers who then shot fleeing protesters in the back.

The Nigerian military said three protesters were killed, but the toll appears to have been much higher.

Amnesty International as well as leaders of the protest said more than 40 people were killed at the march and two other smaller marches, with more than 100 wounded by bullets.

Human rights activists and many ordinary citizens were outraged at the military’s response, which echoed a similar confrontation in 2015, when soldiers killed nearly 350 protesters from the same group, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, the largest and most recognizable face of Shia Islam in the country. The group organizes frequent protest marches.

Early Friday, the military responded to the criticism.

The army’s official Twitter account posted a video, “Please Watch and Make Your Deductions,” showing Trump’s anti-migrant speech Thursday in which he said rocks would be considered firearms if thrown toward the U.S. military at the nation’s borders.

“We’re not going to put up with that,” Trump said in the clip. “They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back.”

On Friday, John Agim, a spokesman for the Nigerian army, said the posting of the video was a response to Amnesty International, which had criticized what it called the military’s use of excessive force.

“We released that video to say if President Trump can say that rocks are as good as a rifle, who is Amnesty International?” he said. “What are they then saying? What did David use to kill Goliath? So a stone is a weapon.”

The Nigerian military has said as many as six soldiers were wounded during the protest after “thousands” of members of the sect overran a police checkpoint and blocked traffic along a highway.

© 2018 The New York Times Company