U.N. chief appeals for violence to be avoided in Venezuela

FILE PHOTO: Antonio Guterres, United Nations (UN) Secretary General, speaks at a news conference at the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and the Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 10, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly appeals" for violence to be avoided in Venezuela, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday after the first bloodshed linked to efforts to bring aid into the country against the orders of embattled President Nicolas Maduro.

"Any loss of life is regrettable," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. "Looking ahead for tomorrow the secretary-general strongly appeals for violence to be avoided."