Rohingya Survive Violence—and a Storm—Before Coming Ashore in Malaysia

Small refugee boat is first confirmed to leave Myanmar for Southeast Asia this year

For the 700,000 Rohingya who fled violence in Myanmar, returning home is still impossible. Many are struggling to rebuild their lives from scratch in Bangladesh. Photo/Video: Karan Deep Singh/WSJ

A boat carrying 56 Rohingya from Myanmar survived a rough weekend storm before being intercepted Tuesday by Malaysia’s navy, which allowed the refugees to come ashore there on humanitarian grounds, Malaysian officials said.

It was the first boatload of refugees confirmed as having left Myanmar for Southeast Asia this year. The interception comes after a massive campaign waged against the ethnic Muslim minority group since last August by Myanmar’s military and its allies, which has thus far driven some 700,000 people to refugee...