BOGOTA - FIVE people died and 65 were wounded when a grenade exploded during a New Years party in a remote region of northern Colombia, local authorities said on Thursday.

The explosion at the party, attended by local indigenous groups, was not an attack on the community, army general Luis Paredes told reporters.

Apparently someone attending the event was carrying the grenade, which could have exploded accidently, he added.

The region's governor Jaime Arias, however, expressed suspicion of the army's account.

It was an 'act of war' against the community, he told Caracol radio. -- AFP