Cities across Iraq were relatively calm early Saturday after nationwide mass protests the day before left 18 people dead and more than 140 injured, security and medical sources told the German Press Agency dpa.
Authorities lifted a curfew imposed on vehicles in Baghdad. However, no newspapers were published since the curfew prevented employees from reaching their workplace on Friday.
The curfew had not been lifted in Anbar province to protect government buildings from attacks, Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported.
The governor of Falluja city, one of Anbar's main cities, as well as members of the provincial council have resigned following the protests. The governor of Basra, Sheltag Abboud, also stepped down.
Clashes erupted between protesters and security on Friday when demonstrators tried to break into several local government buildings.
The deadliest clashes between protesters and security forces took place just north of Baghdad, in the city of Samarra where seven were killed. In the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul, nine people were killed. Two more were killed in Basra and Anbar.
Iraqis, emboldened by widespread protests across the Arab world, had taken to the streets demanding economic reforms, better public services, more employment opportunities and an end to corruption.
Parliament Speaker Usama al-Nujaifi on Saturday, expressed the parliament's full support for the demonstrators, calling on the government to bear responsibility for their protection.
"Everybody has the right to demonstrate," al-Nujaifi said.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government has been strongly criticized for protesters' deaths in the days leading up to Friday's planned "Day of Rage."
The New York-based Human Rights Watch urged the authorities to launch an immediate independent investigation into "any unlawful use of force by security forces during demonstrations."
"The Iraqi authorities need to rein in their security forces and account for every single killing," said Tom Porteous, deputy programme director for Human Rights Watch.
The turnout for the protests was not as large as it could have been after al-Maliki persuaded influential Shiite religious leaders to urge their followers not to protest.
Religious and political officials alleged that the protests were masterminded by the al-Qaeda terrorist network and people loyal to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.