This conflict was sparked when the South African Defence Force decided to try to halt the regroup of the active military branch of SWAPO, also known as the People's Liberation Army of Namibia.

The Operation was a success for the South African Defence Force as they destroyed a SWAPO command base and captured a significant number of weapons and ammunition.

After the conclusion of Operation Protea, South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) were attempting to regroup the scattered PLAN soldiers at their regional headquarters and bases at Chitequeta and Bambi, in south-eastern Angola.

[2] As a result, the South African military decided to launch Operation Daisy against these bases – some 240 kilometres (150 mi) north of the South-West Africa-Angola border.

The plan called for a South African mechanized force of Ratel Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Buffel Armoured Personnel Carriers assisted by airborne paratroopers, to cross the border and advance north, attacking the SWAPO bases from the 4 November 1981.

During the early morning of the 3 November, a 32 Battalion company was flown in to Ionde to establish the headquarters and to make use of the runway at the airfield.

Apart from a few isolated engagements, where two UNITA and two SADF soldiers were killed, the target areas trenches and bunkers were found to be deserted apart from anti-tank and personnel mines.

10 November saw 61 Mechanised move south from Bambi towards Mupa while a reconnaissance team was flown into Chitequeta to lay mines at the abandoned base to prevent or hinder resettlement by PLAN forces after the SADF had ended their mission.

[1]: 99  In spite of this, due to the immense size of the complex - about thirty-five square kilometres – most of the 1,200 SWAPO members at the base were able to escape into the bush.

[1]: 99  [2] For the South African forces, the attack on Chitequeta was their deepest penetration into Angola since the civil war started six years before.