BRUSSELS — The European Union is considering slapping more economic sanctions against Syria, including a possible embargo on oil, officials said Friday. A foreign policy committee is studying options for what would be the EU's fifth set of sanctions against President Bashar Assad's regime, spokesman Michael Mann said. Human rights groups claim Assad's forces have killed nearly 2,000 people since mid-March. An EU oil embargo would be in line with the latest U.S. moves to isolate the regime, including a ban on the import of Syrian petroleum or related products. Syria gets about 28 percent of its revenue from the oil trade, with exports going mostly to European countries, such as Germany, Italy and France. If the EU joins the effort, it could significantly slash the Damascus government's revenues. The EU has already imposed travel bans and asset freezes against 35 Syrian government officials and military and police commanders, including Assad himself. Mann said diplomatic representatives of the bloc's 27 member states were looking into adding more individuals and enterprises to the list, but declined to elaborate further. "A number of economic sectors may possibly be added, and that includes oil," he said. In the past, the EU has been reluctant to restrict Syrian oil and gas exports for fear that shortages might hit the Syrian public and small businesses. Some EU nations have been lobbying for other sectors to be added to the sanctions regime, including telecommunications and banking. In coordinated statements on Thursday, President Barack Obama and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Canada and the EU all called for Assad to resign, saying his repression of demonstrations inspired by this spring's Arab uprisings made him unfit to lead. The calls were the first explicit demands for Assad to step down.
