January 3 (Reuters) - South Africa's Department of International Relations announced in a statement on Saturday that the country has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council following the unilateral military action by the United States in Venezuela.

The statement read, "South Africa calls on the United Nations Security Council, the body responsible for maintaining international peace and security, to hold an urgent session to deal with this situation."

The statement added, "South Africa considers these actions a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, which obliges member states to refrain from the use of force or the threat of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."

(Prepared by Badour Al-Saoudi for the Arabic Bulletin - Edited by Muath Abdulaziz)