Some 6,300 West African troops were “re-hatted” as the new United Nations peacekeeping force in Mali, called MINUSMA; the force will grow to its full strength of 12,640 by December. France has slowed its withdrawal and will have between 3,000 and 3,500 troops in the country at the time of the nationwide election in late July. The government began distributing biometric voter cards for the July 28 election; 15 candidates are running for president.
