In early June 1916, the Ottoman government was putting pressure on Sharif Husayn to supply Hijazi troops and to issue a call for jihad from Mecca in support of the Ottoman participation in World War I. In exchange for the troops, Husayn wanted greater autonomy but the Ottoman authorities would not play his game. Ottoman officials were holding Husayn's son Faysal and told Husayn that if he ever wanted to see his son again, he must send the troops. On June 9, 1916 the Ottomans sent Faysal to Medina to get the armed forces that Husayn had been organizing there but when he arrived, he escaped with his brother ‘Ali.