BAGHDAD  Iraq’s “day of rage” on Friday ended with nearly 20 protesters killed in clashes with security forces. Dozens more were wounded, and several local government offices lay smoldering and ransacked.

But in the floodlit calm of Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, where baton-wielding soldiers had chased down protesters just hours earlier, two high-ranking Iraqi officials took their seats at leather chairs and, with cameras rolling, discussed the day’s events with a reporter for state-run television.

Their alfresco round table was among the Iraqi government’s attempts to demonstrate that it was in control after a string of violent demonstrations convulsed the country, challenging the tenuous security situation. The rallies in more than 10 cities were modeled after the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, and they brought together a chorus of anger at local and national governments. The protests were the largest public outpourings in Iraq since last summer, when thousands raged against the country’s decaying electricity grid and regular blackouts.

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who had personally tried to curtail the demonstrations, praised the security forces. A day earlier, Mr. Maliki made a nationally televised speech urging demonstrators to stay home, warning that insurgents would exploit the rallies.