Al Arabiya, 29 Dec 2012 – Syrian regime forces killed 20 people in a town near Aleppo on Saturday raising the nationwide death toll to more than 100, according to activist media.

Sana Revolution reported the “massacre” took place in Khamsya town near Aleppo. The Coordination Committees reported that more than 100 were killed in the country.

The fighting in Aleppo forced Syria’s national airline to cancel a flight into the city.

Cairo airport officials said a flight that was supposed to stop in Aleppo before continuing to Damascus flew straight to Damascus “because of the deteriorated security situation” near the Aleppo airport.

It was the first time a flight to Syria’s largest city had been canceled because of fighting near the airport, they said. The Syrian government and its airline did not comment.

Rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad have launched a campaign to seize government airports as a way to cut the regime’s supply lines and strike a blow against its air power, the biggest threat faced by rebel forces.

While the rebels have yet to seize a major airport, they have disrupted traffic at some with heavy machine-gun fire, and flights to Damascus have been canceled due to fighting near its airport.

Syrian airlines is the only carrier still flying to Damascus, running one flight per day, though some officials still consider the trip too risky.