The United Nations warned on Tuesday of a rapidly worsening armed conflict in the Central African Republic, where tens of thousands of people have fled their homes and aid groups say formerly peaceful areas are now too dangerous for them to carry out their work.

The mayhem in the Central African Republic, the landlocked former French colony that is considered the world’s least developed country, is so severe that many citizens have sought temporary asylum in a neighboring country, the Democratic Republic of Congo — not exactly a safe refuge itself.

The United Nations refugee agency said in a statement that at least 10,000 asylum seekers had fled into the northern Congolese province of Nord-Ubangi in recent days for fear of attack by armed militias. They joined 65,000 others who have crossed the Congolese border since May.

Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund, said the number of internally displaced people in the Central African Republic had risen to 600,000 from 440,000 in April and was at the highest level since the last peak of strife three years ago. It said the number of refugees from the Central African Republic in all neighboring countries totals nearly a half million.