{"id":2000119126,"date":"2026-07-12T11:20:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T09:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000119126"},"modified":"2026-07-12T11:20:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T09:20:25","slug":"lindsey-graham-u-s-senator-who-urged-dialogue-with-afc-m23-dies-at-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/lindsey-graham-u-s-senator-who-urged-dialogue-with-afc-m23-dies-at-71\/","title":{"rendered":"Lindsey Graham, U.S. senator who urged dialogue with AFC\/M23, dies at 71"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Graham\u2019s office confirmed his death early Sunday, saying the senator died Saturday night \u201cfrom a brief and sudden illness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSenator Graham\u2019s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,\u201d his office said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump led tributes to Graham, describing him as \u201cone of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known\u201d and a \u201ctrue American Patriot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graham, who represented South Carolina in the U.S. Senate since 2003, was one of the most recognised figures in the chamber and served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He was also a leading Republican voice on defence and international affairs, particularly issues involving Ukraine, Iran and America\u2019s role in global security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Africa\u2019s Great Lakes region, Graham became known for his public comments on the conflict in eastern DR Congo, where he argued that lasting peace required political engagement, dialogue between the opposing sides, and addressing the root causes of the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2025, he welcomed AFC\/M23\u2019s decision to withdraw from the strategic town of Uvira in South Kivu, as part of a confidence-building step toward advancing the Doha peace process and achieving a lasting solution to the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he expressed concern over reports that AFC\/M23 forces were being attacked as they withdrew from the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am pleased to see reports of M23 troops withdrawing from Uvira in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, I am disheartened to hear these withdrawing troops are being attacked,\u201d Graham said in a post on X at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued that negotiations between the opposing sides were essential and aligned with President Donald Trump\u2019s vision of bringing lasting peace and economic development to the Great Lakes region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graham had engaged with regional security issues for more than a decade. In 2013, he was part of a bipartisan delegation of six U.S. senators that visited the Great Lakes region to assess the conflict between M23 rebels and government forces in eastern DR Congo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the visit, Graham said the presence of United Nations forces was important but stressed that the region\u2019s challenges could not ultimately be solved by the UN alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On December 3, 2025, Graham also met with President Paul Kagame, with their discussions centred on strengthening Rwanda-U.S. cooperation in strategic areas including conservation, security and economic partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond his engagement with the Great Lakes region, Graham was fresh off a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday to discuss Ukraine\u2019s urgent air defence needs and efforts to increase pressure on Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also paid tribute to Graham, saying he understood that \u201cthe security of Israel and America are inseparable,\u201d while Senate Majority Leader John Thune described him as a strong advocate for the United States and freedom around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graham\u2019s political career spanned more than three decades. Before joining the Senate, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003 and previously served in the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve and South Carolina Air National Guard, retiring as a colonel in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He first won his Senate seat in 2002, succeeding longtime South Carolina senator Strom Thurmond, and went on to become one of the Republican Party\u2019s most influential voices on foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster is expected to appoint a replacement to serve until a special election is held to fill Graham\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Graham\u2019s office confirmed his death early Sunday, saying the senator died Saturday night \u201cfrom a brief and sudden illness.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
On December 3, 2025, Graham met with President Paul Kagame, with their discussions centred on strengthening Rwanda-U.S. cooperation in strategic areas including conservation, security and economic partnerships.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent Republican voice on foreign policy who in recent years called for dialogue in the conflict involving the AFC\/M23 coalition in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has died at the age of 71.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000119127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000119126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000119127,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/260711-lindsey-graham-cc-1138p-8ff010-17ada.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":667,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/260711-lindsey-graham-cc-1138p-8ff010-17ada.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/260711-lindsey-graham-cc-1138p-8ff010-17ada.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/260711-lindsey-graham-cc-1138p-8ff010-17ada.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/260711-lindsey-graham-cc-1138p-8ff010-17ada.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/260711-lindsey-graham-cc-1138p-8ff010-17ada.jpg","width":1000,"height":667}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000119126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000119126"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000119126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000119129,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000119126\/revisions\/2000119129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000119127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000119126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000119126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000119126"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000119126"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000119126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}