An African migrant was shot dead by a policeman in a guest workers' camp in Italy after he allegedly slashed the officer in the face with a knife.

The victim, identified as Sekine Traoré, 27, from Malia, had reportedly started a fight with another migrant staying in the camp in Rosarno, Calabria, which saw police being called to the scene.

Witness accounts of what led up to the deadly shooting differ, with some sating Traoré was mentally ill and had suffered a psychotic episode, while others said he had picked fights on purpose.

Malian migrant Sekine Traoré, 27, was shot dead by police in a migrant workers' camp in Rosarno, Calabria, southern Italy ( pictured is a separate workers' camp in Rosarno)

Traoré had reportedly tried to steal from fellow seasonal workers in the vast tent camp in San Ferdinando, which sits on the outskirts of the southern city of Rosarno.

It is home to some five hundred migrants working as fruit and vegetable pickers in and around Rosarno, located on the 'toe' of the boot-shaped country, which is home to many orange groves.

Initially two policemen arrived at the scene and intervened, but called for back-up when they failed to calm Traoré.

When Traoré saw extra police arrive he lashed out with the knife, wounding one of the officers near the eye, the Corriere della Sera said.

Fearing a possible second attack, the officer shot the migrant in the chest, killing him instantly, it said.

The camps near Rosarno are home to hundreds of seasonal migrant workers who come to the region to work low-paid jobs as fruit and vegerable pickers

Shocked and angry migrants then circled the officers, who drew their weapons and called for more back-up.

The situation calmed down after several hours when police in riot gear arrived, but tension remained in the camp, the report said.

Dozens of migrants were taken to the local police station for interviews.

Rosarno is notorious in Italy for the climate of tension between its seasonal workers - many of whom hail from sub-Saharan Africa - security forces and local residents, and has been the scene of repeated clashes.

Two days of unrest in 2010 prompted more than 1,000 Africans to flee the Calabrian town after clashes left 67 people injured, between migrants, police officers and locals.

Doctors Without Borders at the time fiercely condemned local attitudes towards the migrants, saying conditions in the Italian tent camps were often worse than in refugee camps in Africa.