Fakhr al-Din returned to Mount Lebanon in December 1617 and took advantage of Yusuf's weakened position. In 1618/19 Umar Pasha Kittanji was appointed beylerbey of Tripoli, though his practical authority was confined to the city of Tripoli, the countryside being controlled by Yusuf, who refused to forward tax revenues to the new governor. Fakhr al-Din, who offered to help Umar Kittanji assert control over the eyalet, marched against Hisn Akkar, which Yusuf abandoned on 3 February 1619. Fakhr al-Din plundered the fortress and a caravan of provisions bound for Yusuf, who had set up base in Krak des Chevaliers with his Druze allies. Yusuf's young grandson Muhammad ibn Husayn was captured and held hostage by a Ma'nid force, while Fakhr al-Din proceeded to besiege Yusuf on 7 February. Muhammad and Sulayman Sayfa, meanwhile, restated their alliance with the Ma'ns and fortified themselves in Safita. At the same time Yunus al-Harfush captured the Sayfa-held subdistricts of Hermel and Qayraniya, both north of Baalbek.