A MAN accused of murder has told jurors his alleged victim had been the aggressor and he only chased him because he wanted his drugs back.

Four men - Michael Yemane, 20, of South Bridge Row, Oxford, Welid Solomon, 25, of Field Avenue, Oxford, Sasan Mohammed Khalid, 19, of no fixed abode, and Safeen Abdullah Karimi, 28, of Hode Garth, Thame, are all on trial at Oxford Crown Court accused of murder.

They are accused of killing 22-year-old Luciano Dos Santos Almeida at Southfield Road, Oxford, shortly after 11.30pm on February 27.

Prosecutors claim that Mr Almeida was hit by a car before being fatally stabbed multiple times.

As the trial continued this morning one of the accused - Michael Yemane - took to the witness box to give his account of what happened.

With the aid of a Tigrinya interpreter the Eritrean national said the whole incident had begun with a drug deal gone wrong earlier that night.

Yemane said in the weeks leading up to  the incident he had been dealing crack cocaine and heroin in the city.

After a drug deal that night he said he was robbed of his cash and drugs by a man he later believed to be Mr Almeida.

An effort to find the attacker and reclaim the stolen drugs soon after, he said, led to a fight at nearby Ridgefield Road after Yemane and Solomon spotted Mr Almeida there.

After that street fight, Yemane told jurors, Mr Almeida fled and the men left in the direction of Cowley Road.

Not long after, in CCTV footage played to the jury, Mr Almeida was seen crossing Cowley Road towards Southfield Road where Yemane and Karimi were standing.

As Mr Almeida made it to the other side the captured footage showed a car - allegedly driven by Solomon - then slam into him before the other men all chased their alleged victim up the road.

Explaining what he said took place Yemane said: "I just saw [Mr Almeida] from across the road.

"He was shouting and using his hands, saying 'come here'. He just came across and he said while he was crossing 'I am going to stab you'."

Yemane said he could see a knife in Mr Almeida's hand and as he got nearer he 'was coming around' and 'turning his face towards us.'

He said it was at that moment the car struck Mr Almeida who stabbed Karimi before running off and the men gave chase.

Yemane denied having any weapon in his hands and explaining why he gave chase he said: "He took my belongings and he stabbed my friend.

"I was so angry and I had to chase him, I was a little bit angry and I had to chase him."

He went on to describe a 'struggle' further up the road between Mr Almeida and himself.

He said: "I was retreating back as he was trying to attack me and he jumped on me and he stabbed around my back.

"We were fighting, I was struggling and I was holding his arm that was holding a knife.

"When I managed to get the knife I threw it towards him."

Yemane then left the scene, jurors heard earlier in the trial, before Mr Almeida was taken to hospital where he later died.

All four deny murder and the trial continues.