“The man was killed in connection with a burglary against the property where he was residing,” confirmed foreign ministry spokesperson Linn Duvhammar to daily Dagens Nyheter (DN).

The would-be burglar, who was wearing a mask to disguise his face, was attempting to make his getaway while being followed off the property by the 55-year-old when he turned and fired, according to local paper Nezavisne Novine .

According to a relative of the deceased, one woman witnessed the incident.

“She told us she saw a masked man shoot him down,” the relative told the paper, according to daily Aftonbladet.

After the perpetrator had fired the shots he allegedly turned, looked at the woman, and then fled the scene.

The man was a resident of central Sweden. He had come to the country as a refugee after the war in Bosnia, and recently testified in a Canadian trial against a Serbian prison camp guard.

The 55-year-old had been a prisoner at the infamous Belica camp himself and had told the court about inmates being tortured with electrical shocks and beatings.

Sarajevo police have started a preliminary investigation into the incident, which has been classified as murder. His family in Sweden have been notified, according to the paper.

TT/Rebecca Martin