Amr al-Bidh, a senior official of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), told the Reuters news agency on Monday that the group had extended its presence in all southern provinces including the port of Aden, the base of the internationally-recognised government over the past decade following a military operation codenamed Promising Future launched last week. list of 3 itemsend of list The eight southern governorates are under the protection of the Southern Armed Forces, al-Bidh said by text message.