Around 20,000 people displaced every day in Sudan: UN

Around 20,000 people are newly displaced every day in Sudan, according to UN figures released on Monday to mark one year of civil war in the country.

More than half of them are children and young people, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

More than 8.6 million people are estimated to have fled their homes since last April. Around 2 million have escaped across the border to Chad, South Sudan and Egypt, the IOM said.

"Sudan is on a tragically fast track to becoming one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises in decades," said IOM Director General Amy Pope.

"The conflict that has engulfed the country is creating pressure throughout the region. Millions of people are displaced, hungry and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, but their plight is being ignored by too much of the world," Pope said.

Pope is taking part in a conference in Paris to drum up international aid support for Sudan.