Nicaragua Sues Costa Rica at The Hague

(CN) - Nicaragua claims in the U.N.'s International Court of Justice at The Hague that Costa Rica is violating its sovereignty and hurting the environment by building a road along the San Juan River on the two nations' border.

Nicaragua alleges breach of territorial rights and environmental conventions in Costa Rica's continuing construction of a 75-mile road along the southern bank of the river.

The complaint is another chapter in a dispute over river rights.

The U.N. court issued a ruling in 2009 delineating some of Costa Rica's navigational rights to the river, and earlier this year ordered both countries to withdraw armed forces from the area in a standoff over Nicaragua's dredging.

Nicaragua claims Costa Rica is harming plants, animals and water quality, also in adjacent biosphere reserves and wetlands, by allowing erosion and sediments from construction to wash into the river.

It wants Costa Rica to restore the river, and damages. Nicaragua also seeks an injunction to stop the construction work.

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