Actress Jessica Lange says the conflict in eastern Congo represents the greatest humanitarian crisis on the planet with women and girls the target of an extraordinary campaign of sexual violence.

"The scale of this violence in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) is on a greater level than anyone has ever seen," Lange said in an interview on Tuesday after her first assignment as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, the U.N. children's fund.

Lange visited Bunia and other danger zones in eastern Congo for a week last month. Bunia was the scene of tribal clashes resulting in wide-scale massacres.

"It's the greatest humanitarian crisis on the planet right now," Lange said about the 5-year-old war that has claimed more than 3 million lives. "With rampant, lawless violence against women and absolutely no end in sight for it."

Lange, 53, won a best-actress Oscar in 1995 for "Blue Sky" and a best-supporting actress Oscar in 1983 for "Tootsie."

She said women have become a target of all the factions in a conflict she says has led to "total chaos."

"There's not one militia, not one army fighting there now that is not guilty of these crimes," said the actress, "whether it be the government army, the Rwandans or the tribal militias. They are all guilty.

"By attacking the woman, you basically destroy the fabric of the family. You destroy the fabric of the community. You intimidate the community and create total chaos."

Lange said there are documented rape cases of victims as young as 3 and as old as 80. Beyond rape, women and children have also been subjected to severe physical assault.

"I saw a 4-year-old girl in the hospital whose mother had carried her in for three days through the forest," Lange said about her visit to Bunia. "She had been macheted across her neck, her face, her arms, her back. Her hands were hanging off. It's just such insane violence."

Lange called on the international community to ensure the interim government in the Congo holds the guilty parties accountable.

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