Police in Bosnia and Herzegovina shot and killed a migrant who had barricaded himself inside an unoccupied house, from where he was said to have fired shots and thrown a hand grenade, local media reported on Tuesday (August 20).

The incident took place overnight in the village of Zovi Do, around 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of Mostar, according to the local broadcaster RTRS. Authorities are still working to confirm the migrant's identity and country of origin. No other casualties were reported.

Zovi Do is located in the Nevesinje municipality within Republika Srpska, which together with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina makes up the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is home to Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs.

Locals accuse migrant of stealing a sheep

A video from the local TV station RTV BN showed police officers urging the man to surrender, speaking to him in English. He responded by telling them to "get lost."

The confrontation reportedly began after a dispute with local residents, who accused the migrant of stealing a sheep. Gendarmerie units from the nearby town of Trebinje were called in to reinforce local police, and the standoff ended when the migrant was fatally shot.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lies along a branch of the "Balkan route" used by migrants and refugees traveling from Turkey to Western Europe. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), nearly 2,000 refugees and migrants were staying in asylum shelters in Bosnia as of late July. Many, however, do not register and instead try to continue on to Croatia, an EU member state.

With dpa

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