QURGHON TEPPA, January 17, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Over the first ten days of January, some 1,500 labor migrants have returned from Russia to the Khatlon province, which is considerably more than in the same period of last year, Izatullo Ismoilov, head of the migration service within the Sughd police directorate.

Ismoilov attributes the outflow of labor migrants to the ongoing global financial crisis.

He also noted that some 155,000 residents of Khatlon, including more than 12, 000 women, left the country seeking better employment opportunities.