( CNN ) -- Sri Lanka 's quarter-century-long civil war is in its final phase , the government suggested Friday , as its troops pounded Tamil Tiger rebels in the country 's north . This picture , released by the Sri Lankan defense ministry , is said to be of a dead Tamil Tiger body captured after fighting on May 14 , 2009 . The rebels -- formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE ) -- have fought for an independent state in Sri Lanka since 1983 . As many as 70,000 people have been killed since the civil war began . President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the end of the current military push , which is often referred to as a civilian rescue mission , is less than 48 hours away . He spoke from Jordan on Friday , where he 's attending an economic summit . `` The Tamil civilians held hostage by the LTTE in small area of land in the north would be rescued , and the Tamils would be saved from the threat of LTTE terrorism , '' Rajapaksa said . In a rapid military push , Sri Lankan forces have squeezed Tamil Tiger fighters into approximately 1.5 square miles ( four square kilometers ) of coastal land . The United Nations estimates that more than 50,000 civilians are trapped there . CNN 's Paula Newton reports on the plight of trapped civilians » . The chunk of land , known as the no-fire zone or civilian safety area , was under siege by government forces Friday , according to Tamilnet.com , a rebel Web site . `` The entire safety zone area is in smoke ... as shelling by the Sri Lanka army was destroying all the structures within a narrow strip of coastal land , which is densely populated with tens of thousands of people , '' Tamilnet said . Humanitarian aid groups have reported mass civilian casualties in the fighting . `` The government is moving forward in extremely difficult circumstances . After all , the ... Tamil Tigers are seeded amidst the middle of all these civilians . It 's very difficult to weed out and identify who is a fighter and who is not , '' said Gordon Weiss , a U.N. spokesman . `` It makes it very very dangerous for civilians , and it explains the very large toll on civilian life that we 've seen at this point . '' Weiss called the fighting a `` bloodbath '' at the beginning of the week . The situation had worsened by Friday , the International Committee of the Red Cross said . It suspended evacuation and medical rescue operations in the no-fire zone . Aid agencies had been stuck offshore , unable to deliver badly needed relief supplies and evacuate civilians . `` Our staff are witnessing an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe , '' said Pierre Krahenbuhl , the Red Cross ' director of operations . `` No humanitarian organization can help them in the current circumstances . People are left to their own devices . '' The U.N. Security Council and U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday called for both sides to protect civilians and allow humanitarian aid into the conflict zone . Watch frustration build at the United Nations » . In a statement at the White House , Obama urged Sri Lankan government troops to halt the `` indiscriminate '' shelling of civilians trapped with the remnants of the country 's Tamil Tigers . He also prodded the rebels to stop using civilians as human shields . Security Council members issued a statement demanding `` that all parties respect their obligations under international humanitarian law . '' A Red Cross worker was killed Wednesday during shelling in the conflict zone in Sri Lanka -- the third aid worker killed in six weeks -- the Red Cross said .
Sri Lanka president says end of current military push less than 48 hours away . Red Cross estimates tens of thousands civilians trapped in area under siege . U.N. : `` Staff are witnessing an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe '' Tamil Tigers have fought for an independent state in U.S. since Wednesday .