"We had a civil war like any other country, like America, like other countries that fought war," Johnson told the BBC.

"They emerged from the war and then they moved their nation forward.

"General de Gaulle was a general who was involved in warfare but he became president who was elected by his people. You get Franklin D Roosevelt, you get General Eisenhower... Liberia is no exception".

Johnson is notorious for a 1990 video, in which he was seen drinking beer as his men cut off the ears of ex-President Samuel Doe, before killing him. There has been a mixed reaction to his bid for power, with critics saying it could threaten the country's fragile peace.

Johnson was a warlord during civil war between 1989 and 2003, in which some 250,000 people died.

He is set to run against Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first democratically elected female leader, and George Weah, a former footballer, in polls scheduled for November 2011.

Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has recommended that Johnson be banned from holding public office for his role in the war.

It has said the same about Ms Sirleaf, who has admitted to backing ex-President Charles Taylor, who is currently on trial for war crimes at The Hague.