University of Khartoum degrees completed their programs in 1950. The next year, Gordon Memorial College was formally renamed University College Khartoum, which incorporated the Kitchener School of Medicine. When Sudan gained independence in 1956, the new Parliament passed a bill to award university status to Khartoum University College. It officially became Khartoum University on 24 July 1956. The eminent horticultural scientist John Pilkington Hudson was a visiting professor in 1961-3, who founded its department of horticulture. On 5 April 1984, the Government announced the closure of all faculties of the university. The university was reopened fully on August 1. The university was closed
2008 attack on Omdurman and Khartoum 2008 attack on Omdurman and Khartoum In May 2008, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a Darfur ethnic minority rebel group, undertook a raid against the Sudanese government in the cities of Omdurman and Khartoum. From the government's viewpoint, the attack took place on a single day, May 10, 2008, while JEM has countered the government's account with reports of heavy fighting in parts of the Khartoum metropolitan area into May 11. More than 220 people were reported to be killed in the raid, including a Russian pilot, and scores were later sentenced to death. It was the first time