BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian government forces recaptured a suburb south of Damascus on Wednesday and continued battles to push insurgents out of long-held territory outside the northern city of Aleppo, in what appeared to be a major push to gain ground ahead of proposed internationally sponsored peace talks.

State news media showed government troops entering Hujeira, the latest in a string of suburbs south of Damascus where the government has made inroads in recent days, trying to sever supply lines between rebel-held towns that form an arc around the capital.

Despite rebel claims to be tightening a noose around the seat of power, and government claims that the army would soon push rebels out of the suburbs, the front lines around the capital have changed little over the past year, with rebel and government forces dug in within a few hundred yards of each other in many places.

The standoff has been deadly for civilians. People have died of malnutrition in rebel enclaves blockaded by the government, which also suffer daily bombardments. In Damascus, rebel mortar rounds continue to land at random; on Wednesday, funerals were held for four schoolchildren killed when a shell hit their school bus near the capital’s old city.