<span style="color: #222222;">In Mali, armed men have killed 18 civilians in two ambushes its restive central region. Officials today said, twelve persons were killed on Wednesday as they went towards a blast that claimed a life of a soldier.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Security sources said that the bodies of 12 people have been booby-trapped with explosives. The deadly series of events was unleashed when a Malian army vehicle transporting rations exploded near the village of Tigula.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Mali has been embroiled in conflict since Islamist militias seized the north of the country in 2012 before being pushed back by French troops in 2013.</span><br />