WORLD IN BRIEF : CAMBODIA : Peace Talks Open; Role for U.N. Seen

Cambodia’s warring factions opened a new round of peace talks in Jakarta, Indonesia. The latest negotiations center on a new Australian peace plan calling for the United Nations to establish a caretaker government in Phnom Penh until free elections can be held. The talks opened amid a new offensive by the Vietnamese-backed government to drive resistance forces out of areas they seized in northwestern Cambodia late last year. There were reports that Vietnam at one point last October may have sent a contingent of 5,000 to 10,000 troops back into Cambodia to help bolster the fledgling Phnom Penh army.