The Moro Islamic Liberation Front ( MILF) has dismissed Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy Janjalani from their camp in Mindanao, a top Philippine army official in central Mindanao said Monday.

In an ambush interview in Camp Aguinaldo, Chief Major General of 6th Infantry Division, Agustin Dema-ala said Janjalani left the Mindanao camp after the MILF wrote him a letter last Thursday, saying he is no longer welcome in their camp.

"They are getting rid of the group of Janjalani," Dema-ala said of the MILF, which is negotiating for a peace accord with the government.

The MILF is bound to rid its relations with terrorists under a cease-fire agreement it struck with the government a couple of years ago. However, reports of MILF enshielding of terrorists continued.

"Now they sent him a letter that no JI (Jemaah Islamiyah) and Abu Sayyaf (members) are allowed to enter MILF areas," Dema-ala said.

The JI is a terrorist network which has links with both the Abu Sayyaf and the MILF. Military estimates revealed that there are at least 30 to 40 JI men operating in the Philippines.

Dema-ala said government forces have launched operations to pinpoint the whereabouts of Janjalani and his men since they left the MILF camp.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, however, denied the MILF had concealed Janjalani, who is among the five top leaders of the Abu Sayyaf wanted by the US government.

While Kabalu admitted that Janjalani stayed near MILF territory in Duingolongan town, Mindanao, saying the MILF tried to drive them away.

Source: Xinhua