In 1799, Kör Yusuf was assigned command over an Ottoman ground force mobilized at Üsküdar to reassert Ottoman control over Egypt and drive out French forces who occupied that province during the French campaign in the Ottoman Empire. In the initial mobilization, Kör Yusuf's army consisted of 15,000 troops, but after recruiting soldiers from Aleppo and Damascus, the number grew to 25,000 by the time the Ottoman army reached Egypt from its marshaling point in Gaza. Arnauts formed the largest component of Kör Yusuf's forces, and were prone to revolt. Other components included a 5,000-strong cavalry and a contingent of Janissaries. In January 1800, Kör Yusuf signed the Convention of al-Arish with French general Jean Baptiste Kléber and British admiral Sidney Smith, which called for the evacuation of French forces from Egypt. However, conflict resumed and Kléber's forces defeated the Ottoman Army and allied Mamluk forces at Heliopolis in March. Kléber was assassinated in mid-June, and after victories by the Ottoman-British alliance, the French were defeated by December 1801.